Mirzapur 2 actor Divyenndu aka Munna Bhaiya: I have said no to a lot of money and directors, was not easy

Divyenndu’s career witnessed an upswing in 2020 with his character Munna Bhaiya in Mirzapur 2 garnering him a lot of praise and adulation. Before this show, the actor has starred in films such as Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017), and Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018) as the virtuous, hero’s friend.

The actor says the reason he wanted to experiment with his image is because a lot of similar work started coming his way. “There are two ways to go about it. One, if I need to capitalise and consolidate my position, and go long — I was also thinking to try and do that with these boy next door roles — but I was not okay with it,” he says.

Ask him why and the 37-year-old says he had his own reasons.

“The films will be cool, but I won’t be happy as a person. I said no to a lot of offers, a lot of money and directors, which wasn’t easy for me. I need to have something different where I can show the complete side of me as an artiste. It had to happen, mere paas Munna ka role aana hi tha. I thank God every day for it,” he shares.

In times of the pandemic and especially the lockdown phase, digital platforms emerged as the only source of entertainment with plenty of new content coming out and even films meant for theatrical releases opting for web route. Divyenndu, however, says that the shift in audience’s taste and perception was evident even before all of this happened.

“Before the lockdown, we had seen many big films didn’t work. It’s certainly true that people want something else, and the credit goes to OTT. People started watching these fascinating web shows and films. Also, it’s better for outsiders today in showbiz, it’s all much more organised. The credit goes to casting directors, and because of web, there’s so much work out there,” he ends.

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