Divya Dutta says streaming has changed the game for actresses past 40. Roles that once seemed hard to land are getting far more depth, and she thinks OTT services deserve a lot of credit for that shift.
For Dutta, the appeal goes beyond having more parts on offer. Online shows tend to focus on people with real flaws, messy choices, and lives that viewers can relate to. And that gives writers more room to build characters who act like actual humans.
Age is a big part of her point. Women in their twenties and thirties have long had space on screen, but Dutta says older actresses can finally lead shows with rich plots. She even brought up a recent hit series she led as proof that a woman past 40 can carry the whole thing.
And the old good-guy, bad-guy split? She thinks streaming has helped move past it. People lose their temper, make mistakes, and react in odd ways when life gets hard. A character need not be a saint or a villain to hold an audience's interest.
Viewers have played a part in this shift as well. They can stream a show alone or sit with family, all at their leisure. That freedom, paired with richer plots, has made OTT a hit, in her view.
The change has reached movie theaters, too. Dutta thinks fans bring the same high hopes for well-written roles when they buy a cinema ticket. Even a familiar type of character needs more depth than it might have had in the past.
Her career backs up her interest in such roles. Across more than three decades, she has played Shabbo, a close ally of Shah Rukh Khan's character in Veer-Zaara, and Isri Kaur, Milkha Singh's sister in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Delhi-6 gave her Jalebi, while Irada let her play a political role with more shades of gray.
That last film also earned Dutta the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Quite a career win.
Her recent Netflix thriller Gajab Raat paired her with Manoj Bajpayee. Dutta took on the part of Suneeta Chaudhary, a politician, in the suspense film. Ritesh Shah directed the project, with Neeraj Pandey handling production.
For Dutta, the appeal goes beyond having more parts on offer. Online shows tend to focus on people with real flaws, messy choices, and lives that viewers can relate to. And that gives writers more room to build characters who act like actual humans.
Age is a big part of her point. Women in their twenties and thirties have long had space on screen, but Dutta says older actresses can finally lead shows with rich plots. She even brought up a recent hit series she led as proof that a woman past 40 can carry the whole thing.
And the old good-guy, bad-guy split? She thinks streaming has helped move past it. People lose their temper, make mistakes, and react in odd ways when life gets hard. A character need not be a saint or a villain to hold an audience's interest.
Viewers have played a part in this shift as well. They can stream a show alone or sit with family, all at their leisure. That freedom, paired with richer plots, has made OTT a hit, in her view.
The change has reached movie theaters, too. Dutta thinks fans bring the same high hopes for well-written roles when they buy a cinema ticket. Even a familiar type of character needs more depth than it might have had in the past.
Her career backs up her interest in such roles. Across more than three decades, she has played Shabbo, a close ally of Shah Rukh Khan's character in Veer-Zaara, and Isri Kaur, Milkha Singh's sister in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Delhi-6 gave her Jalebi, while Irada let her play a political role with more shades of gray.
That last film also earned Dutta the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Quite a career win.
Her recent Netflix thriller Gajab Raat paired her with Manoj Bajpayee. Dutta took on the part of Suneeta Chaudhary, a politician, in the suspense film. Ritesh Shah directed the project, with Neeraj Pandey handling production.
