'I Don't Want To Be Seen As A Typical Actor'

'I want to be that kind of actor when, if my name is attached to a project, people and film-makers should know there is something special about it.'

The super-talented Divyenndu (Mirzapur) Sharma says he is very satisfied with his journey so far.

"I am satisfied to an extent that now film-makers are giving me different kinds of roles," he tells Subhash K Jha.

"I'm getting to work in different genres of films, different film-makers, different stories and different characters. But having said that, this is just the beginning. I am very, very hungry for good work.

"I want to collaborate with different kinds of film-makers, different kinds of storytelling. I don't want to be seen as a typical kind of an actor. I want to be that kind of actor when, if my name is attached to a project, people and film-makers should know there is something special about it. That's my definition of being satisfied."

On his newest film Agni, Divyenndu says it was a no brainer to say yes: "Saying yes to Agni was honestly was very, very easy for me. When I read the script, it was an actual true page turner. It was beautifully written.

"The world of firefighters we were seeing for the very first time. It's a thriller, an investigation, a film-maker like Rahul Dholakia was directing it, who is a pretty respected name, right from the days of Parzania.

"Plus, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani were producing it. This is my second project after Mirzapur with them. I know and trust their sensibilities. I was getting to play a cop for the first time and, you know, a Marathi cop. So that was something new for me as well. I had to play a certain age for this character, which also attracted me towards it.

"Everything about Agni was a yes for me."

Agni reunited Divyenndu with his Madgaon Express co-actor Pratik Gandhi.

"Many people don't know this but we shot Agni first, then Madgaon Express. So our friendship actually blossomed on the sets of Agni. He's a great guy, a great actor, and you know, a very fine collaborator.

"We instantly became friends.

"We come from a similar training background. We come from theatre. I also come from film school. So you know, these things really helped us gel. Our working methods are very similar.

"Every time we are working on a scene, we try to uplift the scene rather than be in a game of one-upmanship.

"I believe that no matter how good you are, the scene or the film is not going to look great if your co-actor fails. So we have to come together and create magic on screen. So yeah, working with him was an absolute treat."

The actor also has words of praise for Agni Director Rahul Dholakia.

"What I really like about him is that he has no baggage. Even after so many years of experience, making arthouse films as well as commercial cinema, he comes with no baggage. He is very clear about what he wants and yet, is open to suggestions.

"He's always interested in knowing what you have in mind for the character.

"Also, he comes from a school where you don't have to underline the emotions too much. It's the understanding of human emotions and situations that is important. So with Rahul Dholakia, you don't need to act too much.

"He used to give suggestions and tell me what he wanted from the character and we made the character together. It was a collaborative effort."

"You know, his principles in life are also something I agree with. So, an easy-breezy director, which is very rare."

Agni gave Divyenndu another opportunity to play his character honestly.

"My main criteria always is to be very honest when I'm playing a character. I'm very happy that people are loving Agni.

"They are appreciating the efforts of everyone, not just me. I'm happy that people are talking about firefighters. It was one of the main reasons to be part of this film because they've never ever been represented in cinema in our country.

"We have failed as a society somewhere because it's not fair that a department works tirelessly day and night, and people don't recognise their efforts. I'm happy that Agni is there to represent firefighters."