‘When Ali and I are together, we hardly discuss work’
Richa Chadha’s last release earned over ₹100 crore at the box-office. Professionally, it’s a great time for the actor. And personally, too, Richa says that she is in a good space. Recently, the actor made her relationship with actor Ali Fazal public. For her, he is “the best”. But she admits, it is “not easy” to date an actor.
“Honesty, it’s not easy. I had this rule that I would never date an actor because there would be too much travelling and distance to worry about. But Ali and I have been friends through our theatre days and we come from similar backgrounds. When we are together, we hardly discuss work. We are watching films, taking vacations and it’s easy and super fun. I never want to get sucked into the Bollywood bubble, especially with this relationship. We don’t talk about work at all. We are talking about new plays, restaurants, working out, etc. We do normal things like normal people. And that is why we have such a successful and amazing partnership,” says the Masaan (2015) actor .
But Richa also credits Ali for being patient and secure. “He is truly the best because it takes a lot to be with someone like me. It needs a great amount of security. I have been with people before who can get insecure if you are a strong, opinionated person. But I never face that issue with Ali. In fact, he eggs me on. He supports and appreciates me.”
So far in her career , Richa has chosen roles that have created an impact. But she says that mainstream A-list actors also deserve credit for this. “Good roles were always written for women but these were being performed by actresses who were considered to be offbeat such as Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi. In the ’50s and ’60s when Nutan was doing Bandini (1963) and Nargis was doing Mother India (1957), they were mainstream actresses who were doing these roles. Somewhere along the way, it got split into parallel and commercial films. But now, major A-list actresses are doing roles that are slightly offbeat, where they have a lot to do. That’s where the game is changing. So when a Deepika (Padukone) does a Piku (2015), or when a Bhumi (Pednekar) does Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), which isn’t a parallel film but also not a commercial film, it changes the game. It gives filmmakers the confidence to support such roles.”