CATCHING UP WITH DIANA PENTY

In an exclusive interview with Brides Today, the actor opens up about the Khaki Project, why digital fashion shows may be the way forward, what’s on her binge-watch list, and more...

- Chirag Mohanty Samal

Growing up, Diana Penty wasn’t comfortable being in the spotlight. She was an awkward teenager, who did not meet the so-called standards of ‘ideal’ beauty: some said she was ‘too thin’ or ‘too tall’. Little did she know that she would go on to become a celebrity, one day. Since then, the actor— who made her debut with Cocktail in 2012—has long shed her inhibitions. Diana is now a versatile actor, with a varied repertoire—from the rebellious protagonist in Happy Bhag Jayegi to the security expert in the spy thriller Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, among others.

Even off-screen, Diana isn’t someone to be dictated by stereotypes. When Covid-19 confined everyone to the indoors, the 35-year-old joined hands with the Khaki Project to support police officers in Mumbai working on the frontlines. In association with the Salaam Bombay Foundation, she raised a significant amount of money to provide safety essentials to about 6,000 police personnel across the city. “The Khaki Project was our little way of giving back and saying thank you to the Mumbai police...who had worked relentlessly, putting their lives at risk, to keep us safe during the pandemic,” Diana says of the project. “We felt we had to do something for them. So we got together and raised funds, to help provide them with basic safety essentials like hand sanitisers and safety eyewear.”