The show is set against the backdrop of the 2019 Balakot air strike. Pics/Instagram

Dutta believes life and its wisdom have made her ready for more complex parts today. It shows in her recent choices. The glamorous roles of the aughts—from Andaaz (2003) to No Entry (2005) and Partner (2007)—have been replaced with mature turns in Ishq-e-Nadaan (2023) and Charlie Chopra and The Mystery of Solang Valley (2023). Is she enjoying this change of pace? “I am 1,000 per cent happier today,” beams the actor, 48. “Age has finally freed me from all these shackles of perception, of being perceived only as a pageant winner or a glamorous leading lady. That was never the work I wanted to do. The work I got over the last few years was the kind I had 
always wanted to do.”

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In the pipeline are Suryast, Welcome to the Jungle, and Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, in which she plays the manipulative Kaikeyi. She couldn’t be happier about the diverse roles filmmakers are imagining her in. “Today, we are getting offered amazing roles, and for that, I give credit to all the women who have come before us. Apart from those in front of the camera, today you have so much female talent as producers, directors and technicians. It has been a hard-fought battle, but it’s exciting to be a part of this change.”