You can never please people: Richa Chadha

So far, whatever films actor Richa Chadha has worked in, have been content-driven, and have allowed her to explore different facets of her acting.

However, she feels that every performance is bound to get a mixed response from different sections of the audience, and that is why she doesn’t lose sleep over experimenting.

“The fear of a project not working in your favour always exists. But, you can never please people. I read a review of Masaan (2015) and some didn’t like my performance in it, while others said it was my best performance ever. So, it’s just about diversity of opinion. Not everyone likes everything,” says Richa, whose performance in Masaan won her multiple honours across film festivals.

She adds, “You do one kind of films, and they say it’s good, but not commercial, and if you take up a commercial project, they will call you a sell-out. The only thing I have discovered is that you can’t keep everyone happy.”

In a climate of growing censorship and lessening tolerance, it is often seen that filmmakers in Bollywood are forced to choose safe themes and plots out of fear of censorship or boycott. The actor says that it is understandable, and that there could be multiple reasons behind it.

“Unfortunately, when your money is at stake, or if you’ve taken money from an investor, you become liable to them. Then, it’s not about self-respect anymore — you have to negotiate around it. That’s a downfall. The filmmaker already has a different battle to fight because someone or the other gets offended,” opines Richa.

She adds, “There is a huge amount of money involved and then people do tend to bend over backward, and that is understandable.”

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH Richa Chadha says she understands why filmmakers are forced to choose safe themes and plots these days