For Deepa Divakar, a budding actor of Mollywood, passion comes before profession. She believes that if we do something that we are ardent about, we will never get tired of it. It was this principle that encouraged her to leave a lucrative job in a multi-national company and chase her dream of becoming an actor. Deepa is happy that she made the right choice.
“The passion to act has always been in me. While working in the company, I used to anchor television shows such as Just Chill and Youth Diary, as a stepping stone towards my goal. But, it was difficult to manage both my passion and my profession together. And, when I felt that creative satisfaction was more important than money, I quit the job to become a full time actor. Everyone was against this. But, I was sure that I could make it,” says Deepa who loves her curly hair. “Because it makes me distinct,” she adds.
Deepa started doing live shows and began learning theatre under Sajeevan Nambiar, after leaving the job. She did some internal plays in between. Gradually, film offers came to her. She acted in Mahaprabhu. And her next film 9 Bells will start rolling soon. “In the action movie Mahaprabhu, I act as the villain’s girlfriend; whereas in 9 Bells, which is about friendship, I am doing the second lead role,” she says.
Ask her about the maiden acting experience, she says, “It was amazing, at the same time a learning experience. I realised the areas where I needed to improve to become a better actor,” says Deepa who is also an emcee. “Now, I do live shows, such as wedding receptions. I have tried almost all areas in media. In fact, I am a ‘Jill of all trades’,” she says smiling. Though she is doing movies now, Deepa says that her ultimate aim is theatre. She is planning to come up with a solo performance that deals with the idea of hopelessness.
According to Deepa, she loves theatre for its challenges. “Theatre is just like our life. There are no retakes. Also, theatre will help an artiste evolve. And we feel a high when we receive the audience feedback right then and there. I believe that a true artiste will always be a good theatre performer,” says Deepa.
