I dont have to sleep with anyone for a role ' Richa Chadha

"I don't have to sleep with anyone for a role" - Richa Chadha

She's never succumbed to norms. Unmindful of fashion diktats, body statistics or adhering to the template of a typical tinsel queen, Richa Chadha is an actor who enjoys surprising herself as much as she does the audiences. Right from Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! to the Gangs Of Wasseypur series and Goliyon Ki Rassleela - Ram-Leela. Robust in looks and spirit, Richa has slowly etched herself in an industry monopolised by star kids and stereotypes.

Her latest outing is as Sarbjit Singh's devastated wife, Sukhpreet Kaur, in Omung Kumar's biopic. Sarbjit traces the travails of an Indian farmer, who was suspected of being a spy by Pakistani officials and eventually died in a Pakistani jail. It was the wide spectrum that her character had to traverse - from a happy girl to a distraught and old widow - that enticed her to accept the gut-wrenching role. Richa insists the memory of meeting Sarbjit's real wife will remain an excruciating one. "She held me and started sobbing in the middle of the road. I felt so helpless even as I tried to console her. Her wounds have not healed. Politics can have a devastating effect on the life of commoners. His family has been deeply affected," she says.

She wasn't insecure about sharing screen space with the formidable Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who plays Sarbjit's braveheart sister Dalbir Kaur, around whom the film revolves. "If you want to progress in life you have to work with established people. Aishwarya is a cult figure, a legend. She is a hard working and talented actress. When I met her on the outskirts of Palghar where we were shooting, I did not feel that I was meeting a superstar. We developed a friendship. Aishwarya would talk about Aaradhya and how spending time with her is her priority now. I too shared bits about my life," she shares.

Among her other peers, Richa is close friends with Kalki Koechlin. She's all praise for Kalki as an actor as she is for her distinctive demeanour. "Kalki is a wonderful girl. Also, she has style in her blood, We were shooting Jiya And Jiya together in Sweden. I must have bought a dozen things and she bought just two but they were really tasteful. She doesn't believe in wasting money," she smiles.

Richa is one actor, who believes in pushing the envelope. She's also playing the lead in Pooja Bhatt's Cabaret alongside Gulshan Devaiah. Playing the role of a cabaret dancer, she's attempted a volte face. In fact, veterans Helen and Bindu, she says, were her inspirations for the glamorous role. "Wearing false eyelashes and dancing in high heels is fun! It's a sexy role. The girl is a survivor. I even attended a belly dancing workshop. I've performed a song, which traces my transformation from a shy girl into a diva," she points out. She confides that stripping her inhibitions was a tad difficult. "I had to wear short clothes and expose myself, something I've not done before," she
says shyly.

She's all admiration for producer Pooja Bhatt, who she says is a passionate taskmaster and does not let you go till she gets the desired shot. "She'd even give suggestions to the director (Kaustav Narayan Niyogi) regarding the dialogue. Incidentally, Pooja shares her birthday with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Hence the similarities," she says of Pooja's quest for perfection.

Richa came in as an outsider in an industry where a star kid is launched every single day. But she made it on her own merit without ever having to compromise to survive. "I don't believe in moving forward with someone's help or taking help from a star boyfriend'. You don't have to sleep with anyone to stand on your own feet," she asserts. She insists she's self-made. "You have to carve your own identity and create your own space. At the most what will happen? You may not possess a bungalow. But you will be happy. Today, I don't have to return any favours. For me my real life is more important than my reel life. I love my job but at the end of the day it's just a job!"

She confides she did go through a bad phase after Oye Lucky Oye. People appreciated her work but no work came her way.

"I was around 21 then. I was disheartened and stopped going for auditions. I wondered what was lacking in me. Had it not been for my family, particularly my father, I wouldn't have remained so sane and stable," she shares. "Thank God I have no bad habits. No addiction to drugs or sex. I don't pine for money. I'm not desperate for work. Many choose a luxurious lifestyle and then do wrong things to maintain it. Nobody dare ask me to compromise," she claims. She's aware that frustration often leads young aspirants towards suicide. She says depression is the reason behind suicides. "Actually, creative people are sensitive and moody. You need emotional and familial support. Consuming drugs and alcohol is also a type of slow suicide," she elaborates.

She's as self-assured about her full-bodied form as well. Body shaming would never work for her. "We've always had curvy actresses right from Meena Kumari and Vyjayanthimala to present day girls like Sonakshi Sinha, Vidya Balan, Parineeti Chopra, and Huma Qureshi. They are proud of themselves," she says adding, "Kim Kardashian is voluptuous and she's praised for her beauty the world over!" That the business is insecure is something she accepts. "I do feel insecure like all actors. Many heroines call themselves my friends. But even after knowing that I'm doing a particular movie, they send flowers to the producer and try to usurp my role. That is strange." She's derived her own lessons having witnessed the fickle nature of showbiz. "The truth is that it's all maya. A film is a dream world of three hours. You cannot stay young forever, you cannot remain in love forever nor can you enjoy success forever. The only two relationships that survive over everything else is khoon ka rishta (blood bonds) and the one you have with Ishwar (God). That's what I believe."

True. The rest doesn't matter.