Diana Penty on industry pressure to change her personality, be more friendly during her early days: 'It was exhausting to be somebody...'

Diana Penty recently opened up about the pressure she faced in her early Bollywood days. The actress revealed how being told to change her personality and appear more outgoing left her feeling drained — until she chose to embrace her true self.

Advice to fit in

In her chat with The Hollywood Reporter India, Diana looked back on the advice she often got when she entered the industry. She was told to be more approachable, present herself differently, and always say the right things.

Trying to change herself

At first, Diana tried to follow all the advice, even though she’s naturally shy and introverted. But pretending to be someone else quickly became exhausting. Eventually, she decided it was way better — and much happier — to just be herself.

Choosing authenticity over approval

Diana eventually decided to stop changing herself just to fit in. She accepted that if being real meant losing out on a film, she was fine with it. For her, it was much better to embrace her true side — whether that meant being sarcastic or cracking silly jokes. While there was always pressure to act extra polite and friendly, she knew keeping up that image wasn’t sustainable and only left her drained.

Finding peace in being herself

Diana admitted that if someone chose not to cast her because of her personality, it simply meant her acting didn’t matter to them — and she was fine with that. For her, staying true to herself was more important than trying to be liked by everyone. In the end, she found peace in being authentic rather than constantly trying to please others.

Meanwhile, 'Do You Wanna Partner' stars Tamannaah Bhatia, Diana Penty, Jaaved Jaaferi, Nakuul Mehta, Shweta Tiwari, Neeraj Kabi, Sufi Motiwala, and Rannvijay Singha.