Richa Chadha talked to Brut about how doing Gangs of Wasseypur backfired, the consequences of being outspoken and being “very middle-class”.
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00:00Sometimes it's the, you know, producers urging people to do things to their face.
00:04I watch what I'm buying, I look at the price tag.
00:08I've been on enough shoddy sets with badly implemented scripts.
00:15Hi, this is Richa Chaddha for Brute.
00:22I don't have any endorsements, so it doesn't matter to me.
00:25But again, if I've lost out on films because of my views,
00:30it's not something that I will know, maybe I'll know in five years or retrospectively.
00:34But so far, that's not been my experience.
00:37I just think it's a question that the media keeps poking at me again and again,
00:42as if it's something that I should be afraid of.
00:46Because it's even worded like that,
00:48aapko dar nahi lagta, so I find it weird,
00:51ke lagna chahiye kya? But why?
00:54You're not saying anything wrong or with an evil intent.
00:57You're just speaking your mind.
01:05I had to consciously break that image because I didn't realise when I was doing Gangs,
01:09I was coming from a very different mindset,
01:12from the mindset of an actor,
01:15who wanted to sort of relish this character that is going across like three decades.
01:20So I really enjoyed playing that part and I was really thrilled that it was offered to me.
01:24But having said that,
01:27you know, for me, I just,
01:29I was surprised by how myopic the industry could be.
01:34That even if they would look at me in person,
01:37the first few comments would be like, oh, you're so young or,
01:40oh my God, you can speak in English or those kind of things,
01:44which I guess is a compliment to how much they truly like my work.
01:48And so, yeah, in that way, it was a mixed blessing that while it created awareness for me as an actor,
01:55it created knowledge in people's minds that I exist and I have this range.
02:02At the same time, it really shut me to a lot of opportunities.
02:08But do I regret it? No.
02:10The pressure on actresses and actors to look a certain way,
02:19to adhere to a certain sort of aesthetic,
02:22has always been there from time immemorial, from the 50s maybe.
02:26It's not new. It's not rare.
02:30It's not specific to the Hindi film industry.
02:34And it's certainly not specific to the film industry.
02:37You just have to take a walk through the mall in South Delhi
02:41to see how many people have actually altered their appearances.
02:45I don't think all of them are watching Hindi films and changing their faces.
02:49I think this is just, again, one of those topics that is often discussed.
02:54And it depends on you what you want to do, how you feel comfortable in your skin.
02:58The thing is now people have HD cameras.
03:01DOPs use HD cameras.
03:03And sometimes it's the producers urging people to do things to their face.
03:08So it is an individual choice, I feel.
03:12I don't want to shame anyone for feeling this way.
03:14But I can tell you that looks are something that most people are very insecure about.
03:20That's why we have sales of fairness creams or slimming pills or exercise gadgets.
03:28Always, always, always, you know, shooting through the roof.
03:34As actors, we're expected to have a certain lifestyle in Bombay
03:37that's apart from the reality.
03:41But I'd never thought of myself as a star.
03:44I probably wouldn't even now.
03:46I would still say I'm an actor first, always.
03:49And yeah, I'm very middle class even now.
03:52I watch what I'm buying.
03:55I look at the price tag.
03:56I spend carefully.
03:58I'm not a miser.
03:59I spend carefully.
04:00I'm not a miser.
04:01I spend on the things that people around me should have comfort.
04:04If I'm working with a team, they should be well fed, well taken care of.
04:08I will not cut corners on things like that.
04:11I will not bargain with someone.
04:13But I know the price of vegetables in my neighborhood.
04:19And I'm very connected to reality.
04:23The key lesson I'm taking back is what not to do.
04:27Because I've been on enough shoddy sets with badly implemented scripts
04:31to know what not to do and how to ruin a perfectly good script.
04:37But I feel like I want to work with integrity.
04:42I want to work with good talent.
04:44I want to tell amazing stories.
04:47I want to tell rooted stories.
04:49I want to tell amazing stories.
04:50I want to tell rooted stories that are from India, but that can travel globally.
04:55So that's been my passion for a while.