Richa Chadha: If not me, Rani Mukerji could have been Bholi Punjaban

Starting with ‘Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye’ that released in 2008, Richa Chadha has been entertaining us with her flawless performances in films. Be it ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ or ‘Masaan’, Richa has been simply unstoppable. Now, she awaits the release of her next film ‘Fukrey Returns’ which is the sequel to hit film ‘Fukrey’ that had released in 2013. So as she gears up for the release, we caught up with her for a candid conversation.

Excerpts from the interview…

From ‘Fukrey’ to ‘Fukrey Returns’, how has your journey been?
My journey has been fun. It has been up and down. Did interesting work here and internationally. Like ‘Maasan’ and then ‘Love Soniya’ which is an international film. Then I did an interesting film like ‘Main Aur Charles’ and ‘Inside Edge’. It has been up and down but it has been fun, it has been worth it.

So was it an instant yes for ‘Fukrey Returns’?
Absolutely because no one writes such characters for women. You don’t write such powerful, badass characters for women. And also it also started my association with Excel. I have consistently done work with them and they are my favourite production house. They have a respect for talent that only few other places have. Actor ki kadar hai unko. They don’t call you for stupid parts. But other production houses, they will give you a cameo and give you a special thanks, but basically they want a kickass actor to play the part which is a one day work. That is pissing off. Excel is not like that. (Also Read: Revealed! Richa Chadha prefers this secret thing over Twitter!)

If not you then who else could you visualise as Bholi punjaban?
I think if she was younger and the film was made a little earlier than someone like a Rani Mukerji had the persona to carry it. Like she is attractive but has the confidence to do it.

Post the postponement of ‘Padmavati’, ‘Fukrey Returns’ got preponed to December 8 from December 15. Do you think it will help you gain big at box office?
It is not preponed, it is just that we have come back to our original date and that is just the function of maths. We get more screens now that we were getting probably a while ago. But I do wish that whenever ‘Padmavati’ comes out, it does very well at the box office which I am sure it will.

What’s your take on the entire ‘Padmavati’ fiasco?
It is very sad that even filmmakers are scared today. I guess whoever has a problem with it, first watch the film and discuss it. Discuss it, don’t do violence. Don’t do tod fod. Don’t destroy public amenities. Don’t destroy someone’s cinema halls, that is not fair. Even the Supreme Court has given the verdict. It is not about supporting the film or being against it, but it is about freedom of expression which is a very important part of our constitution. We are in a democracy. Just like how filmmaker has the right to express his story even the protestors have the right to express themselves. But to say such violent things and insensitive violence like 5 crores for this and 10 crores for this, it is just bizarre. It has never happened before and it is morally wrong.

With open threats being given to celebrities, you think Government needs to take charge now?
These are the times we live in. Everybody knows what’s going on.

The Go headless poster of ‘Fukrey Returns’ that came out last was considered to be a dig at the ‘Padmavati’ controversy. What do you have to say about that?
Our campaign was prepared in August, it was not recent. So at that time no one knew that what was going to happen. It was just coincidence. Why will make a parody of something so dark, you know. We are making a parody film.

What according to you is the trick for the sequels to be a success?
Content and script. The script of the second part has to be even better than the first part. The script has to be even more entertaining than the first one and only then it will work. Sequels that have worked very well overseas are like the animation ones, ‘Shrek’ series, ‘Kung Fu Panda’ series and they are hilarious. They have humour in every sequel and I think that’s the key for anything. The content has to be great.

Can you tell something about ‘Daasdev’?
It is a great story. It is an immortal story and hence, it is being done so many times. But this is a modern adaptation of this and Sudhir Mishra being the master filmmaker that he is, brings many interesting elements to the film that were not before.

Aishwarya Rai as ‘Paro’ has already set a benchmark, so do you think comparisons would be drawn?
Yes, actually once a very cruel journalist once wrote about me that she is not beautiful as Aishwarya Rai. So I don’t want to say about anything. Everybody is beautiful in their own way. My mother thinks I am beautiful, my boyfriend thinks I am beautiful so I don’t need anybody else’s approval on it. And secondly it is a modern take on ‘Devdas’, it does not have over the top opulence or long songs. It is very normal so I am very excited about it.

A lot is being said about you and Ali Fazal…
We don’t really discuss our relationship. We are in our happy space.

How does it feel to be a part of a book called ‘Tribe of Mentors’?
I feel very proud of this as it is a very respectable international collaboration and that too not for a film but for a book. I feel very happy that I am diversifying and doing so well. A guy like Timothy Ferriss, for anybody who is under 30s or is in 30s, for us he is a huge mentor and a huge influence in self help area.

What are your plans going to Hollywood?
I have done this film called ‘Love Soniya’. Let’s see how it does when it releases.