Divya Dutta has spoken about the way Bollywood reacts to a success, and the Divya Dutta herd mentality remark comes from an interview with SCREEN, the film vertical of The Indian Express, published on 7 November. “Yes, there is a herd mentality when you have a successful project, and similar roles come trickling in,” she said. Dutta was talking about the recognition she received for the 2026 social drama Chiraiya, in which she plays the lead role of Kamlesh.
Chiraiya, which streams on JioHotstar, puts the spotlight on marital rape at a time when there is no law against it in India. Dutta said she was spellbound when she first heard the script, and shaken by its subject, and she took time to absorb it before saying yes. The show’s reception has brought her a new level of attention, and with it, the kind of offers she has spent years turning down. The Divya Dutta herd mentality remark is her answer to that pattern.
The Divya Dutta herd mentality remark follows a selective approach Dutta has kept for years, rather than one she adopted after the appreciation for Chiraiya. She has tried to avoid repeating characters she has already played, and she said she wants her next project to be different from Kamlesh. She has done vulnerable and negative roles, and she now wants to try comedy, to laugh it off a bit.
Divya Dutta herd mentality and the roles that follow
The Divya Dutta herd mentality point is one she has made before, in different words. After Veer-Zaara in 2004, she was offered characters similar to the one she played in the film, and she sat at home for a year turning down offers. “Everyone thought I was crazy,” she said of that period. Then came Delhi-6, and suddenly she had a new tag. Then Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and she was everyone’s sister. Then Badlapur, and she was a heroine again.
“Being boxed into a category is a trap everyone falls into,” Dutta has said. “You either cash in on the image and get drained out, or you choose the path less travelled. I chose the latter.” She has said her refusal to conform has become her identity, and that she has turned down films simply because her instinct told her she would not enjoy the journey.
Filmfare carried a separate interview with Dutta on 7 November, titled “You Have to Keep Proving Yourself in This Industry”, in which she spoke about Chiraiya giving her bankability and about working with Manoj Bajpayee. She said that with Chiraiya, every actor needs that one thing that belongs to them, and then everyone starts considering them bankable, both professionally and commercially. She said the commercial side came with brands and greater trust from people investing in her.
Divya Dutta herd mentality and the Manoj Bajpayee films
The Divya Dutta herd mentality interview also covered her work with Manoj Bajpayee, across several films. Special 26 was her first film with him, and more recently they have shared the screen in Gajab Raat and The Last Man in Tower. She said the face-off with him in Gajab Raat was delightful, and she called The Last Man in Tower one of her favourites, because the role is layered, vulnerable and brutal. She has said Bajpayee nurtures the actors around him and lets them do what they have to do.
The year 2026 has been a busy one for Dutta, with Chiraiya, Last Man in Tower and Gajab Raat releasing close together. Filmfare noted that she is no longer the strong supporting presence who lifts someone else’s story, and is now the one carrying it. Dutta has also won a National Award, which she has called a feather in her cap, and she has written a second book, The Stars in My Sky, about actors who shaped her career.
Divya Dutta herd mentality and what she wants next
The Divya Dutta herd mentality remark sums up the choice she keeps making. She said she is flooded with offers similar to Kamlesh, but she is not taking them, because she prefers a director who sees her differently or has a different story to tell. She has said that having a herd mentality is easy, but breaking it is the real challenge. Her upcoming projects include a film with Neeraj Pandey, another with Rana Daggubati, a romantic film with Jimmy Shergill, and a biopic with Neeraj Ghaywan.
The Divya Dutta herd mentality interview was published by SCREEN on 7 November, and the Filmfare conversation followed the same day. For now, Dutta’s position is the one she has held for years. She picks scripts by the story and the people telling it, and she turns down the rest, even when the offers come thick and fast after a success.