Diana Penty, who made her Bollywood debut with Cocktail in 2012, recently shared an insightful story from the early days of her career when she was approached for a role in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar (2011). Speaking to Hauterfly, the model-turned-actress opened up about how acting was never a part of her original plan, and how her first brush with cinema came as a surprise.
Diana Penty recalls her first acting experience with Imtiaz Ali and why she wasn’t in Rockstar
“I was in New York, modelling, and I got a call from my agency. They told me Imtiaz Ali was looking for a new girl for his film Rockstar and that I must meet him,” Diana said, recalling how the opportunity came her way while she was still working abroad as a model.
Despite the excitement surrounding the offer, Diana confessed she wasn’t confident about her ability to act at the time. “I never had the confidence that I could be an actor one day. I never believed that I would ever be able to pull it off,” she admitted.
After being called in for meetings with Imtiaz Ali, she was encouraged to take acting workshops to explore her potential. Diana shared how she put in the effort to learn the craft, but the final decision reflected what she already felt internally.
“After 2–3 weeks he said, ‘Look, I can see you have come a long way and I’ve seen a lot of improvement, but I still don’t feel you are ready to play the character in Rockstar. Maybe, it is too soon for you,’” she revealed. The honesty of the conversation left her with mixed emotions—but mostly relief.
“I was kind of relieved because I didn’t feel confident. So I went back to New York and continued with my modelling,” Diana added, explaining how she chose to return to familiar ground before eventually making her film debut a year later.
Although she didn’t appear in Rockstar, the experience turned out to be a formative one. Today, Diana is recognised for her work across genres in films like Happy Bhag Jayegi and the recent one Chhaava, having carved out a space of her own in the film industry.
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