Some actors command attention by being at the centre of a story. Others make you look twice, even when they are not. Divya Dutta belongs to the latter category. As an actor, she has spent years bringing consistency to characters that refuse to be reduced to a single emotion, even for a single scene.In her latest film, Gajab Raat, now streaming on Netflix, Dutta joins Manoj Bajpayee in a crime thriller that unfolds over a single night in Delhi. Directed by Ritesh Shah and produced by Neeraj Pandey, the film follows a corrupt police officer whose encounter with an injured woman pulls him into a dangerous conspiracy. Dutta plays politician Jattvibeeeta Chaudhary, a character who adds to the thrill and mystery of the film.“This year has been crazily lovely, with two films with Manoj. Before Gajab Raat was the Last Man in the Tower. I am also shooting another one, Gandhi, with him so this would be a hat-trick for us,” she said.For Dutta, the excitement lies as much in the story as in the company she keeps on screen. Her association with Bajpayee goes back years. “We appeared in four films together but never shared screen. We started working now, I think we covered up for all things we lost on. He is an actor, who refuses to be put in a box, and brings a certain kind of energy on sets. And, he cooks us some of the best dishes. He’s such a lovely person, and he feeds everyone with so much love,” she said.Her characters are often women with complicated emotions, women who cannot be understood through a simple moral lens. Whether it’s Chiraiya, The Last Man in Tower or now, Gajab Raat. Dutta, in all her affection and warmth, credits this particular sensitivity of contradictions to her mother, late Dr Nalini Dutta. “My mother said no to rituals, the mundane and yes to life. She told me happiness has no limit, so does life. I believe life gives you jhatkas, but also gives you suspension. Real life never follows a script and so, I try to stay true to life in my craft,” she said.