Divya was in the ninth standard when she began to get film offers. As her face resembled superstar Sridevi, she got noticed by many directors and producers. At first her parents were hesitant, till Nandu Tolani offered her Gunahon Ka Devta in 1988. Divya was 14 and a 1/2 at that time.
Meanwhile, Divya learned via a friend that Dilip Shankar wanted a new girl opposite Aamir Khan in Aatank Hi Aatank and Rudra Avtaar. With her parents' permission, she signed up both films. During those times, Kirti Kumar, Govinda's brother noticed the charming Divya at a video library. He followed her to her residence and then called up director Nandu Tolani, who lived in the building next to hers and asked about Divya.
When Divya heard that Rajiv Rai was on the lookout for a new face for his film Vishwatma opposite Sunny Deol, she daringly walked into Rajiv Rai's office with her portfolio. And the same day signed the film. Rajiv was making the sequel to his Blockbuster film Tridev.
The film was produced by Trimurti Films Pvt. Ltd., one of the biggest and oldest film production houses. Vishwatma was launched in late 1990 with grand mahurat with Dharmendra giving the mahurat shot. Soon Divya left for long outdoor shooting in Nairobi. By the time Divya came back, film offers started pouring in. Without a single release so far, Divya had signed 14 films.
Vishwatma was released on January 2, 1992. Although it did do well, the film's success did not come close to that of Tridev and the film was declared an average grosser. Notably, the film's most popular song "Saat Samundar", which focused on Divya, became a hit and even to this day, the audience remembers Divya's dance sequence in that song.
Seven days later, Divya's musical bonanza Dil Ka Kya Kasoor released. It was supposed to establish her as popular heroine but opened to empty theaters. No one expected the film to bomb so badly. Although, the film failed to impress an audience, Filmfare magazines started including Diyva in the list of 1992 top ten best actress performances. Surprisingly, even when other now-well known newcomers was being introduced to showbiz, Divya's collapsed debut made a magazine headline. This was the time when stardom eluded many actresses including Madhoo and Chandni (whose debut movies (Phool Aur Kaante) and Sanam Bewafa, respectively) were superhits. Divya's flops made her a star. Divya defended herself by saying, "I wanted to prove myself. But, I've fallen flat on my face. Now, I have to begin my climb all over again. Yet, I'm positive that one day success will be mine" (Stardust, March 1992).
Thus Divya too was deleted from the ranks of the promising newcomers for awhile. Then Pehlaj Nihlani's Shola Aur Shabnam came along. The film was a box office hit and Divya was riding high again. Not only did it present Divya in a noble character role, it also gave a big boost to Govinda's career, as well as launching David Dhawan as an established director.
Four months later, Raj Kanwar's love story Deewana became the biggest hit of 1992, where she held her own against veteran Rishi Kapoor and debutant Shahrukh Khan. With the super success of Deewana, Divya got rid of her promising newcomer status and entered the A-list. Divya Bharti performance in Deewana was highly appreciated. Around that time, Divya's other films Balwaan with another debutant Sunil Shetty and Jaan Se Pyaara with Govinda released and did well at the box office. By the end of the year, Hema Malini's Dil Aashna Hai was released, in which Divya played a bar dancer who searches for her biological mother. Although the film was a box-office failure, her performance in the film was much appreciated by critics.
Suddenly, with big hits under her belt, Divya had become the hottest property in showbiz. And many predicted that she was poised to hit the number one slot soon. In September, magazines such as "Movie", "Stardust" and "Filmfare" put her at the 3rd position in the list of actresses based on price, popularity and position right after Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi.
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