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Richa Chadha responds to Twitter trolls and quashes criticisms the way only she can!
Richa Chadha is excited to see how the audience receives her latest short film, 55kms/sec. The reason being, the film, directed by sci-fi expert Arati Kadav, has been shot completely during the lockdown on a smartphone! The film, which releases today on Disney+Hotstar, depicts the idea of living in a world stricken with fear as it narrates the story of an asteroid that’s about to hit earth. But, in the midst of the excitement, Richa has found herself in the web of criticism over her recently released film, Shakeela, and Madam Chief Minister, which is expected to hit the theatres at the end of the month. The fierce actor, who minces no words when it comes to speaking her mind, came under fire for not looking the ‘part’ in Shakeela. And, earlier this month, Richa had to issue an apology over the poster of Madam Chief Minister, which showed the Dalit community in a stereotypical manner; the word untouchable was also used on the poster. But, despite apologising and the makers retracting the poster, the controversy refused to die down. In a latest development, Richa received death threats from Bhim Sena chief Nawab Satpal Tanwar, who has warned of grave consequences if the movie sees the light of the day. In a candid chat, we asked the actor some direct questions focusing on all the new developments in her professional life. Here’s what she had to say:
The controversy: On facing death threats over the poster of MadamChiefMinister.
Richa’s response: I don’t pay heed to bewakoof [mindless] people. And I am not scared of their threats at all. I have never paid attention to such views. I feel there is no need to encourage publicity seekers.
There are many people who like to earn publicity on our names. You have seen people try to boycott Bollywood many times in different ways. I feel we should not get engulfed or give importance to such petty issues. They follow a silly formula of bad-mouthing actors on social media merely because they feel “gaali dene se log ek baar toh read karenge!” These controversies are nothing but voices raised against films by people from the political sphere.
They boycott films and create issues only because they need publicity. An aam aadmi is busy earning his bread and butter, and has no time to wail about such things. These are all manufactured stories and we shouldn’t pay attention to them. In the bargain all essential/necessary subjects that need to be discussed take a back seat.
The actor has found support from colleagues from the industry. Speaking about it, Richa says, “I think because she [Swara Bhasker] gets trolled so much herself and receives a lot of threats that she understands how important it is to stand for others. Swara is brave. Dia Mirza, Vidya Balan, too, usually support such issues.”
The controversy: On not looking the ‘part’ in Shakeela. Richa’s response: Sexy lagna! Voluptuous lagna? Jitna jaruri tha utna weight put on kiya for Shakeela. I think putting on too much weight is not healthy for your body. Her [Shakeela’s] physique and mine are different, and it’s not possible for me to gain so much weight. I did my best for Shakeela. In my view, if a person is buying a ticket to watch a particular film or if a critic is reviewing it, then it’s their right to criticise. Nobody is expecting that each and every person from the audience will like the film or that they will praise you all the time. I don’t think like that. As actors, once you have made the film and thrown it in the public domain then it belongs to the audiences. They love it, hate it, like it or dislike it, it belongs to the audience and it’s their individual opinion.
The controversy: On wearing a wig instead of chopping her hair for MadamChiefMinister.
Richa’s response: About wearing a wig in Madam Chief Minister, I was supposed to get married, and I knew my hair won’t grow to the original length till the wedding. I was comfortable wearing a wig that suited the character, and the makers consented.