model Devdutta

She may call herself Arya in the credits of Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhokha but for us she will always be “model Devdutta”. Having gone from Jodhpur Park to Juhu, this 22-year-old is on the verge of her big Bollywood break.

Why did you change your name?

I needed something that was easy on the lips. Onek poramorsho kore decide korlam je Arya would be a good name. Bari’r sobai miley (decided on it). My mother knew about me changing my name. She is very happy about this movie and is looking forward to seeing me on the big screen.

Tell us about Love Sex Aur Dhoka...

I am completely not supposed to talk about it… but it is going to be something that has never been attempted on the Indian screen before. I play one of the leads. A lot of new faces are going to be there. It is a digital movie. The promos are already out. I am extremely excited. It is completely a performance-oriented role. I had to go through very tough auditions and then a very gruelling workshop. Just waiting for it… The release dates have not been finalised yet. (LSD will release some time in March.)

How long have you been in Mumbai?

I have actually not been here for very long at all. I came down for acting classes and then things happened one after the other. I have done a three-month-long acting course from Anupam Kher’s school. Then I learnt about the auditions. There were multiple stages of auditions for it, one after the other. Soon after the workshop got over, we started shooting for it. The whole process took a few months. Dibakar also joined us for the workshop and there were lots of other people involved.

What was it like studying under Anupam Kher?

He is an institution by himself. It is amazing to work with someone who has worked with topmost directors in India and abroad... Woody Allen and all! When you get to meet legends you’ve been reading about, it feels amazing. I am quite a shy person. So he would always say that don’t try to intellectualise acting. Acting is about acting. Don’t sit and think about it. Just do it.

What has the tinseltown experience been like so far?

It’s been an amazing experience. Getting to work with Dibakar who is so acclaimed [he is the Khosla Ka Ghosla man] … I couldn’t have asked for a better launch pad for myself. I was lucky enough to get the role. It is no more the case that you send across your pictures and just because you have a pretty face, you get the role. It is your performance. That’s the way Hindi cinema is changing where you have to fit the role and be the part. The new-age directors cast you because you completely fit the character. I am lucky and blessed that I have come in at a point in time when you don’t get work just because you are someone’s daughter or your father is a producer. If you have the talent and the passion, you go for auditions and everybody has a chance. For LSD, it was crazy work hours. But then when you are passionate about something, and so geared up, you don’t feel it. The work culture is amazing. It is thoroughly professional and I was always learning something. The director was there to drive me.

Have you signed anything else?

I am concentrating on this and I am waiting for the film to release. Let’s see the reaction. The first film happens and thereafter you have to take the right decisions in the right manner. I have done my masters in Hindustani classical music. Music is always going to be a part of my life. I would love to do something in that space some time. It was literally like... life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans! I am very happy where I am today.

What do think your father (late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee) would have said?

I did not get to spend time with him. He passed away amaar properly gyan hobar aage. His presence is always there. Any time I am in a dilemma, I always think what he would have suggested. I remember that there was this emotional scene in the film. Baba’s thoughts helped me enact that scene.