Right from her debut in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) to Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) followed by Masaan (2012), and Fukrey (2013) and the recently released Panga, Richa Chadha has managed to create a niche for herself in Bollywood.
“I was still in college and was doing a play titled Baghdad Ka Ghulam when someone saw me and cast me in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, but my career started with Gangs Of Wasseypur in 2012. I moved to Mumbai and got an apartment on rent. After Gangs of Wasseypur, I started considering this as a profession. For now, I am content and a lot of factors have played a role. At 24, I was destined to play a 60-year-old and now so many actors are doing the same,” she exclaims.
The 33-year-old has been vocal about her feelings for the current state of affairs in India and says that some of the ongoing issues make her unhappy. “The state of the country makes me unhappy. There are so many issues and there is so much slump in the economy. Nearly 30 farmers are committing suicide every day. The environment and the air quality is so bad. We will have an epidemic of cancer very soon and that’s what WHO (World Health Organisation) says as well.
The water is not clean and trees are being hacked. I’m a truly patriotic person. People, who are 70 years of age, are sitting and making rules for those who will live for the next 30 to 40 years. The youth wants the answers, but who will respond to them? I want the country to do well as I am really patriotic. Just because I question the government’s policy that doesn’t mean I am unpatriotic. This kind of thinking makes me sad. There should be peace and love. Hate is bad for the economy. All over the world hatred and extremism is on the rise. Somebody should look at the correlation. For example, if I want to go on a trip, will I go to Syria? No, I won’t. I want to go to a place where peace and love coexist.”
On her forthcoming ventures, she says, I have played a cameo in Ghoomketu, which has been produced by Anurag Kashyap. I have completed shooting for Shakeela which is in dubbing stages. It’s a multi-lingual film. I am quite excited about it because Shakeela is a very cinematic character. In a sense, she is a true feminist. Some people are forced to live by the forces of feminism but she is a strong woman. Then there’s Subhash Kapoor’s Madam Chief Minister. It’s a thriller and I have finished shooting for it. Besides this, I will branch out and do a lot more. I have written a book and will be launching it soon. It’s about life and society. I want to do a lot of charity work as well.”
Despite being open about her relationship with actor Ali Fazal, Richa says she has no plans of tying the knot anytime soon. “Ali Fazal and I are a couple but there are no plans of marriage. I want to be single as of now. We are best friends and he’s a gentleman and very supportive of me. He’s made me a better person today,” she signs off.