Richa Chadha, from Gangs of Wasseypur, to Fukrey 3 now, has been quite an unconventional heroine. Instead of dancing around the trees, her roles have been about playing a mother to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, or a local don, among others.
So imagine her surprise, when despite her different choice of roles, she was made to think she has a ‘shelf life’. “There was a loser director once who offered me a part in a film, and said ‘you have to work with this actor, be his wife’- who was close to 70! I had just turned 30 then, and said ‘he is older than my dad’ I also didn’t have much to do in that part, and it wasn’t like that actor was doing well so I could make a justification. He was not someone like Irrfan Khan that I was dying to work with him. I didn’t want to ruin my chances by being paired opposite a 60 something man,” shares the now 36-year-old.
What happened next was the director trying to make her feel that her career as a female lead was over. “He said ‘hunh, khud toh tu kaun si heroine ban jaayegi ab, Nawazuddin ki maa bani, phir Bholi Punjaban. No one takes that kind of a heroine’,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}What happened next was the director trying to make her feel that her career as a female lead was over. “He said ‘hunh, khud toh tu kaun si heroine ban jaayegi ab, Nawazuddin ki maa bani, phir Bholi Punjaban. No one takes that kind of a heroine’,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}It is clear that one has to be thick skinned to be an actor. Chadha continues, “Yes, but that director is nowhere today. He told me what he thinks of women, their capability by using words like ‘tumhari shelf life’ as if I am a bottle of jam! I am not a bottle of jam, you are a loser, and have no career, was my thought for him. I feel like laughing.”
Meanwhile, Fukrey 3 emerging as a success is a big relief for the actor. She quips, “I am relieved because for a film like this, it’s mostly the box office that matters, one is not looking for acclaim, but the numbers. It has officially been declared a hit, that means it is a safe investment for all involved, I am very thrilled about that.”