Important to have both success and criticism: Diana Penty on ‘Chhaava’

Actor Diana Penty, who played a Mughal princess in “Chhaava”, a film that was a box office hit but also received backlash for its depiction of certain historical events, says it is important to have both success and criticism for artists to grow.

The action drama, based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj — played by Vicky Kaushal — became the highest-grossing Hindi film this year by earning over Rs. 600 crores at the box office in India after its release in February.

“I think that’s the case with all films where everybody has mixed opinions, some like it, some don’t, to each their own. Like, I might not walk into a theatre and like the film that I’m watching, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good film or that it won’t find its audience.

“It’s important to have both sides so that actors or makers can do better the next time or change certain things. Every time I watch a film that I’ve done before, I’m like, I could have done that better. I’m a huge critic of my work,” Penty, whose latest work is “Detective Sherdill”, told PTI in an interview.

In “Chhaava”, the 39-year-old actor played the role of Zinat-un-Nissa Begum, the second daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb.

Penty said there were people who liked her portrayal and then there were some who didn’t.

“But for me, what I liked about this character was that I had very little to say, and that gave me another challenge. There was so much power in the silences, and that’s not easy to do. There are a lot of internal emotional thoughts and feelings that you want to show without words. It is not something I had done before. So, I looked at the positive side of it,” Penty, who has garnered praise for her work in films like “Cocktail”, “Happy Bhag Jayegi”, and “Parmanu”, said.

The actor said she feels blessed to be part of a movie like “Chhaava”, which brought historical narratives to contemporary audiences.

“It was an interesting script from the point of view of just telling our history. We had learned it in high school, which was being represented on screen. It was something that I had to be part of. Working with Maddock, with whom I started my journey, is special, and I wanted to work with Laxman (Utekar, director), sir,” she said.

Penty has a slew of interesting projects in the pipeline, including web series “Daring Partners”, with Tamannaah Bhatia and Nakuul Mehta and a thriller drama film “Section 84”, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Nimrat Kaur and Abhishek Banerjee.

The actor is most excited about her collaboration with Bachchan on “Section 84” and described the experience of working with him as “incredible.”

“It truly was a masterclass watching him in action. It was one of those films where, because you were opposite such a fine actor, your performance automatically improved. Like, being in that moment and just reacting to the person in front of you, and when he is that person, it just gives you so much more to play with and watch the way he brings nuances, and it’s just so real.”

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“Detective Sherdill” is produced by Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Mehra, and directed by debutant Ravi Chhabriya. It was released on Friday on ZEE5.

The film also features Diljit Dosanjh, Banita Sandhu, Sumeet Vyas, and Chunky Pandey among others.