Model and actress Divya Pillai, who has delivered impressive performances in a handful of movies, doesn’t shy away from speaking from her heart. In a candid chat with Telugu media, Divya opened up about her former marriage and the intimate scenes in her movies. The actress, who spoke about the various challenges she has faced in her professional and personal life, admitted that she is currently dating someone. Divya, meanwhile, is awaiting the release of her latest Telugu movie ‘Thandel’.
Divya Pillai revealed that she had been in a relationship with a British man of Iraqi origin for 12 years. “We got married in an intimate ceremony at Mookambika. My parents also attended the ceremony. Unfortunately, we had to part ways. We hadn’t formally registered the wedding that was solemnized in the temple. Moreover, there were a few legal issues as both of us are citizens of different countries. We separated even before we could sort all these out,” said Divya.
“We decided to part ways when we realized that both of us wanted different things in life. There weren’t any complications related to divorce as we weren’t legally married. So, I am not sure what to say when someone asks me whether I am married. But, I was in a relationship for a long time, and that has ended now,” Divya added.
Meanwhile, the actress prefers to keep her current dating life under wraps until she is mentally ready to reveal it. She admitted that she is dating someone even though she doesn’t prefer talking about it. Divya, however, vowed to let everyone know when the time is right. “I do not wish to lie that I am not dating. But, I can’t reveal the person right now,” says Divya.
The actress noted that she isn’t a fan of lip-lock scenes while talking about her intimate scenes in the movie ‘Kala’. Divya revealed that she had refused to act in the scenes as she wasn’t comfortable. However, she gained confidence after having a chat with the movie’s director.
“I was worried about doing the intimate scenes. I wasn’t sure how to act intimate with a person whom I was not close to, in front of the camera. I believed that I couldn’t do it. The director tried to convince me, saying that it was just another emotion like anger or sadness. He asked me why I couldn’t emote this feeling and if I was okay acting angry or any other emotions. I replied that I wasn’t interested.
I felt uncomfortable even thinking about getting intimate with a stranger. But, the director explained the scenes to me really well. He spoke about facing challenges as an actor and how to attain the freedom to decide what is favorable to me and what is not. He asked me whether I would be ready to film in mud or dirt if a scene demanded it. He wondered why I couldn’t do intimate scenes if I could film such sequences,” recalls Divya.
However, Divya was worried whether people would judge her if she acted in intimate scenes. But, the director gave her confidence, saying that she shouldn’t listen to such unnecessary comments. The director explained that an actor would be portraying another personality, and that ends as soon as he calls ‘cut’. Divya realized that was true and gained confidence to act in the intimate scenes.
“I sat down with Tovino to discuss the scene. We had a chat about how to perform that scene in front of the camera. While doing that, we were thinking only about the camera angles. Even while filming the kissing scene, we were bothered about being favorable to the camera. We couldn’t think about the act of kissing as we had such technical things in mind. We had to perform these scenes in front of a cameraman who was holding a camera that weighed 75–80 kilos. That, I think, was the real challenge!” remarked Divya.
Meanwhile, a few intimate scenes from her Telugu movie ‘Mangalavaram’ have gone viral as well. Divya says that she had communicated her reservations with the director while filming those scenes too. The actress revealed that the scenes were then shot in a way that was more comfortable for her. “While shooting ‘Mangalavaram’, I had made it clear that I was not comfortable. In the beginning, that scene was planned with my co-star Shravan above me. I was not okay with that and I said this to the director. He told me that the two characters getting intimate was essential for the movie. He gave us the freedom to decide how to perform that scene so that the audience would feel the intimacy between the characters. Shravan too was really cooperative,” revealed Divya.
