Richa Chaddha wants to shed her serious image, aims for commercial roles

Chadda hopes to shed her serious on-screen image with younger and more commercial roles that involve song-and-dance scenes

Having proved her mettle as an actor in films such as Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Fukrey (2013), Richa Chadda now wants a change in her on-screen image.

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"I want to play roles that are close to my age. Usually, heroines start off with lighter roles, and once they are established, they move on to serious roles. But in my case, I went the other way around. I am in reverse gear," she says.

The 26-year-old actor, who is also a trained dancer, hopes to break the impression among film-makers that she cannot play light, younger, roles.

"People in the film industry are under the impression that I am older; they don’t think of casting me for roles my age. Due to the characters I have played so far, people assume that I cannot do what is expected of a conventional Bollywood heroine — singing and dancing. People are amazed when they see me performing," says Richa, who also features in the songs of two of her upcoming films.

"I realised that doing a song-and-dance routine is a lot of fun. If I did heavy roles all the time, it would definitely take a toll on me,” she says.