Divya Khossla, lead of ‘Ek Chatur Naar,’ lived in a Lucknow slum for a month to prepare for her role. She learned the local slang, performed daily slum chores, and improvised a powerful monologue. Directed by Umesh Shukla, the film releases across India on September 12, promising authenticity.
Divya Khossla, the lead of the upcoming film ‘Ek Chatur Naar,’ directed byUmesh Shukla, went through an unusual experience, which she will cherish and remember for her life. The unique experience also tells to what extent an actor can go to get into the skin of the character he/she is playing onscreen.The story of ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ tells a story from a Lucknow slum; Divya plays a girl from that slum and her relationship with a wealthy businessman, played by Neil. What has caught everyone’s attention is the remarkable dedication Divya showed while preparing for her role.Sharing challenges during the promotion of ‘Ek Chatur Naar’During her recent visit to the T-Series office, Divya spoke about her experience promoting the film on a new series called ‘Dabbe Mein Kya Hai?’ with Archana Puran Singh,Parmeet Sethi, and their son Ayushmaan Sethi. In an informal lunch conversation, Divya shared the physical and emotional challenges she faced while shooting. She mentioned that she didn’t know the UP language initially but learned and practiced it at home. Later, the director made her live in a slum for almost a month. According to director Umesh Shukla, the slum was a real location inBadshahNagar, Lucknow, confirming that they shot the film there, and it is a genuine slum.Living next to the gutterDivya revealed that her jhopdi (hut) was built right next to a ganda naala (gutter) and that she eventually got used to the bad smell. She described a particularly frightening moment while shooting when she was standing at the edge of an open naala and was very close to falling in, which made her extremely scared. Parmeet Sethi reacted to the story by remarking on the lengths actors go to to make a film.Director Umesh added that some scenes were filmed without informing the actors about the exact location in advance.For the naala scene with Divya, they didn’t inform her about the location but simply took her there and made her stand at the spot.Performing everyday slum choresShe also explained that her role demanded she handle daily tasks typical of slum life. She said, “They made me do everything, including jhadu, katka, and pocha sab,” referring to sweeping and mopping.Parmeet responded humorously, “When you are fated to do a certain thing, life makes sure to make you do all that in one way or another, irrespective of who you are.” Reflecting on her childhood, Divya shared, “Growing up, I had this wish to do the dishes.Every year when I used to visit my grandmother’s house, I would immediately do all that and get a lot of scoldings.”A surprising improvised monologueDirector Umesh Shukla praised Divya’s performance, especially a powerful scene from the film’s trailer where she delivers a long monologue.He revealed that the monologue was completely improvised and said that Divya surprised him with it, noting its growing popularity and his lack of understanding of how she came up with it. Divya described her preparation process, explaining that as soon as she signed the film, she began watching videos of influencers from Uttar Pradesh to learn the slang they use.She also gathered staff members from the office who were from that region and interacted with them, asking them to teach her a few cuss words. With such intense preparation and firsthand experience, ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ is set to offer a raw and authentic portrayal of slum life. The film is scheduled for release in theaters across India on September 12.