Finding joy in simple things

Divya Dutta

The decade began on a good note. All the postponed and the about-to-start projects started together. With meticulous planning, thankfully they could all be adjusted in the schedule as I was working with my bucket-list directors simultaneously—Neeraj Pandey, Dibakar Bannerji, Sudhir Mishra and Umesh Shukla.

As I had little or no time in between these projects, I had prepped up in advance. All these projects are different, belonging to different genres and my roles, poles apart from each other. An actor’s delight it is to portray such a variety. But the process has been tough too. After wrapping awesome sequences in Neeraj Pandey’s next, I jumped into my next with Sudhir Mishra. Looking into the mirror was gratifying. A different Divya. A different role. A different attitude. An exceptional high!

All these directors’ style of directing is so different and yet the end result is the same. Sheer brilliance on the sets! Jumping from a thriller to a comedy to a drama was an interesting journey for me. I’m not a method actor, so the best was to be like clay and let the director mould me the way he wants. In-between these shoots also have been some bonding with the co-stars. As I write this, I’m sitting in the fields of Punjab with my co-actors cracking jokes, playing cricket and sipping on hot tea.

These are opportunities one gets to catch up with these lovely people, who you have been meaning to meet but then life takes over.

For me coming back to Punjab is a nostalgic feeling. I got everyone to stop on the way to our location to buy garam garam gudh (jaggery). Seeing me chat up in Punjabi and buy gudh, everyone got off their cars and bought it. The simple little girl selling it didn’t know what hit her. The entire unit of people had cleaned up her entire stall. She was ecstatic.

Then I also did what I have wanted to do for ages. Sleep on a charpoy soaking the winter sunlight.

My hotel has an open balcony and terrace and I requested for a charpoy. I lay there. Absorbing the moment. The birds chirping around, the greenery, which is seen only in Punjab. Suddenly the lady cleaner appeared. She asked, “You look tired, should I press your head?” Without waiting for my reply, she started stroking her fingers on my head. I didn’t stop her because I think I really needed a head message. And then she started chatting, about her husband. Delightful it was to listen to this simple lady. My headache had reduced. Not just because of the head message but also because of the rejuvenation my soul got.

Once a while this rejuvenation is required. This touching your roots, this simple chat with a stranger, this feeling of nothingness lying on the charpoy... all this while I am ticking a few more names in my bucket list of directors... Zindagi khoobsurat hai.

(Dutta is a Bollywood actress)