HOW RICHA PREPARED TO PLAY THE ROLE OF A BROTHEL OWNER

Actor Richa Chadha’s film Love Sonia is creating quite the buzz at many international film festivals. Not many know that the actor read extensively on the life of sex workers and devoted a lot of time to get the character of a brothel owner right.

A source says, “Richa had to delve deep into the underbelly of prostitution and sex trade. As her character is a part of the prostitution racket, she had to understand the inner workings of this profession.”

The source adds, “To justify her role on-screen, Richa’s research on the subject has been thorough. Richa read various firsthand experience books such as God in a Brothel, The White Umbrella and Girls Like Us Who Talk About Sex Trafficking Survivors’ Journeys and The Experiences That Have Scarred Them Forever.”

The actor, who was last seen on the silver screen in Sudhir Mishra’s Daas Dev even spoke to a few sex workers from Mumbai’s red light district with the help of an NGO.

“When you get a chance to know so much about a topic so closely [you take that] chance and spend a lot of time to research,” she says.

“I met NGO workers and even met with girls who have been rescued, and their stories were extremely horrifying yet it was inspiring to know that there is hope. Their stories helped me to understand, and [I used] that information for the role on- screen,” says the actor before signing off.

PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT Besides reading a lot of books, Richa Chadha also met reallife sex workers for her research