Working alongside Bollywood heavyweights can be intimidating, even when you have shared the screen with them before. For Ishita Dutta, who plays Ajay Devgn’s daughter in the Drishyam franchise, the experience of working with the superstar and Tabu continues to be a learning curve. With Drishyam: The Final Conclusion enjoying a successful run, the actress, in an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, opened up about why she still feels the pressure of performing alongside two of the industry’s most celebrated actors. She also spoke about Devgn’s secure approach to acting and how he ensures that everyone gets their due on set.
Admitting that the nerves have not completely disappeared even after working with them before, Ishita said, “I still feel intimidated by Ajay Devgn and Tabu. I need to get out of it, that thing that I have to make sure that I give my best because I don’t want them to be giving retakes because of me. That pressure I don’t know why I always feel. You know, it takes me a little time, honestly, still today, to get over that. The first two, three days are a little bit like that, then I get into my comfort zone. Because, I mean, how can I not? I mean, they are such legends, like such great performers that, like one look and they express everything. So I also feel I’m lucky to work with them, to see their process and to learn also so much from them.”
Praising Ajay Devgn for making space for others to shine, Ishita spoke about how his attitude on set reflects his understanding of what makes a film work. The actress said, “Majority of my films have been with Ajay sir. And wherever other sets I have worked, I have not come across somebody who feels insecure like that. So I don’t know about how it is to work on a set like that. A great actor would know that a film does well if everybody does well, right? I mean, it can’t be ki examination mein mera hi performance accha hona chahiye. Yeh sabka performance accha hona chahiye. I know we all want more space. That hunger is always there to be more on screen. But I think that little bit of maturity has to be there that the film will do well, no matter what your part, you will also do well. You will also grow.”
