On the Mehfil stage at the Spoken Fest 2025, Divya Dutta left an indelible mark with stories of love, loss, and resilience, taking the audience through a personal journey—one that was moulded by her mother. The National Award-winning actress, known for her versatility and carrying a certain gravitas in her performances, brought the same depth to her storytelling.
Dutta commenced the performance by narrating a childhood memory, painting a picture of two invisible queues—one for mothers and one for daughters. Her belief was that the children had the liberty to choose their mother. In a corner, the actress saw a beautiful woman, draped in purple, calling out, ‘Hey, it is Nalini.’ From that moment, a bond so formidable became her strength during this lifetime.
Divya’s voice exuded warmth and yearning as she shared stories of growing under her mother’s love. Her dupatta had comfort and a feeling of home, a symbol of her omnipresence—a reminder that she is never truly alone. Even as she navigated the highs and lows of her career, signing 22 films—twenty never taking off and getting sacked from two—her mother’s presence remained her constant support.
The audience was spellbound when Dutta spoke about her mother’s silent, yet unwavering support through her experiences. When relatives pressured her to get married, her mother stood by her side, solidly. During her audition after getting selected for a talent hunt event, for the first time in her life, she was facing stalwarts like Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, and Shekhar Kapoor. When she felt under-confident, a distant visual of her mother’s silent prayer played a huge role in that first step towards a career in films.
Divya also talked about her experience of bagging the role of Shabbo in Yash Raj Films’ Veer Zara. She went to the office, where Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra narrated the film. When she was visibly dejected knowing that she is not playing Zara but her friend’s role, Aditya Chopra reassured her that there was no one else who could play Shabbo better than her!
While she had her reservations about playing the role of the lead actress’ friend in Veer Zara, her mother instilled confidence that made her sign the film. During the premiere of the film, while she was inundated with praise, people thronging around her to get an autograph, there, from a distance, her mother stood in silence and pride.
One of the most touching moments was when she recited poems from Tanhaiyaan, a collection of poems from her mother’s diary, which she maintained after losing her husband. The poems took the audience through the gamut of emotions, leaving them teary-eyed.
Through her spoken word performance, Divya invited the audience into her world in a seamless manner. She made the audience feel every word, emotion, pause, and inflection. Every memory echoed a shared, universal experience, resonating far and wide.
The energy was palpable at the seventh edition of Spoken Fest. Following the legacy of the past six editions, the Mumbai fans have deeply related with the ethos of the festival. It has created a community, a haven for the city folks to immerse themselves in the spoken word craft presented by a curated set of artists.