Richa Chadha: Bollywood generally responds to change a bit late

Actor Richa Chadha talks about how Bollywood is reluctant to take up global themes until they attract hype, and why her upcoming film Jia Aur Jia breaks stereotypes.

Actor Richa Chadda has often been a part of films which have broken away from stereotypical ideologies, but she feels that the mainstream film industry takes up certain themes only after they become popular trends worldwide.

Actor Richa Chadha talks about the trend of filmmaking in Bollywood. (Karun Sharma/ HT Photo)

“Bollywood responds to change a bit late. When something cool starts happening in the world, we decide that we should make a film on it,” says Richa.

The actor, who has been part of films such as Masaan (2015) and Sarbjit (2016), will soon be seen in a film which revolves around two girls travelling together. She accepts that when Bollywood takes up a topic, it has a certain impact on the mind of the audience.

“A film might not always have a message, but it does have some kind of impact on people. A film like mine (Jia Aur Jia) tries to normalise the idea of girls bonding and travelling together. I think people should be allowed to mingle without any pressure from parents, spouses or in-laws,” she feels.

The actor also believes that films about female bonding are important for the audience, especially since there is a dearth of such films in the mainstream industry.

“We have seen lot of films such as Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which are centred around male bonding. There is hardly anything for girls. It’s either a love triangle, or being catty. It’s just not a healthy space in films for women-bonding stories,” she feels.

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