Diana Penty: It was very stressful, trying to control the uncontrollable pandemic

Diana Penty is very selective about the films she picks, and this is something that gets pointed out to her often. But it has worked out well for the actor so far. Having done just seven films in the nine years of her film career, Penty says her “simple funda” is to enjoy what she does.

“I want to be excited with the projects I take up, wake up every morning looking forward to telling a story. As an actor, this is most important. And I think it’s a fair and honest way to work, for everyone involved,” shares Penty.

Her primary criteria for choosing a project, therefore, is the story. The Cocktail (2012) actor elaborates, “The story is the foundation of any film. I rely on my instincts a lot while reading a script. I usually know instantly if it is something I like.”

The 35-year-old has been working through different phases of the pandemic, and she admits it was “very stressful” in the beginning, trying to “control the uncontrollable”. “But the more you do it, the more accustomed you get to it. The toughest part, in my opinion, was having to quarantine in a separate part of the house after a shoot. It was annoying and inconvenient. But now that most people are double vaccinated, things are easing up a bit. It’s still important to follow Covid-19 protocol on set, but the overall energy on sets now is much happier and less stressful,” says the actor, who was recently seen in Shiddat, which released directly on an OTT platform, since theatres were closed then.

Penty reveals that intense love stories have never been her thing, yet she ended up saying yes to the project.

“There was something very pure and real about the script. It was set within a landscape that is so relevant to the world we live in today,” she shares, adding that the ending drew her to the story the first time she read it. “It really stayed with me and that’s when I knew it was something I wanted to be part of,” Penty concludes.