Diana Penty says as an actor her priority is to keep experimenting and avoid sticking to “formula films”.
The actor, whose last release “Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran” did significantly well at the box office, says it is important for films to mint money at the ticket window but she would not compromise over content to be in a project which will “do well”.
“Box office success definitely matters. I will be lying if say it does not matter. At the end of the day, there is a lot of money that gets put into films. Plus you want it to do good and don’t want it to lose any money. A lot of hard work goes into making a film.
“There are some films that you know will do well. Then there are others which have good stories that ought to be told. But because they are slightly risky, not everybody is willing to take that up. But I think it is important to take risks because at the end of the day, you want to explore new genres and new characters,” Diana told PTI on the sidelines of IIFA 2018.
The model-turned-actor, who made her Bollywood debut in 2012 with “Cocktail”, has worked in “Happy Bhag Jayegi” (2016), “Lucknow Central” (2017) and “Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran”.
She says the long gaps between her films were not “intentional” and she just waits for right scripts.
“I am not intentionally taking long breaks so as to keep gaps between my films. It’s just that it takes a while to find the right kinds of roles and what you want to do next. I have always been careful about it and I don’t want to do something that I am not sure of. I take my time with it and be sure of a certain kind of films,” she said.
Diana will be next seen in “Happy Phir Bhag Jayegi”, the sequel to her 2016 hit film, that also featured Abhay Deol, Jimmy Sheirgill and Ali Fazal. Sonakshi Sinha is the new entry into the franchise.
“If you like the first one, you will also like the second one. It’s the same space. It is funny, crazy and sweet. It’s a joyride. It is funnier than the first one. It feels good that a film is good enough for the makers to consider a part two. I feel proud when I think of that,” Diana says.
The actor says she does not feel pressured by the fact that the first part was a hit as the story of the second film is “unique”.
“I don’t think it is that much pressure or anything. It’s a unique story and director Mudassar Aziz really aced it. I feel it is even funnier than the first one,” she adds.
