It’s been a mixed bag of a year for Richa Chadha. The actress dabbled in new mediums (web and writing), found success with the Amazon Prime series Inside Edge and made her relationship with fellow actor Ali Fazal public. Her last release for the year, Fukrey Returns is a sequel to the 2013 sleeper hit, and releases this Friday. In the Mrighdeep Singh Lamba-directed film, Richa once again plays the foul-mouthed and feared ganglord Bholi Punjaban. t2 met the actress in her gorgeous apartment in Mumbai’s Versova recently to chat about the film and the year that’s been.
Is it true that you almost didn’t play Bholi Punjaban?
Ya. When it first came to me, someone wanted his girlfriend to get this part. He actually told me this wasn’t a good role. I was very naive then, so I turned it down. About two weeks later, Honey Trehan, the casting director for the film, called and told me to at least read the script.
In handsight, it would have been terrible if I didn’t do Fukrey because Excel Entertainment has become one of my favourite production houses to work with. Apart from these two Fukrey films, I have also done Inside Edge, and another film Three Stories, which will release next year.
When you read the part, what caught your attention?
I had never seen a part like this written for a woman. She’s almost a mythical creature. In the first part, Bholi’s introduction is just different characters describing who they think she is and that went into two pages! (Laughs) Her henchmen have barcodes and wear her name on their clothes. She is very badass. Vamps, traditionally, have been cabaret dancers or angry mothers-in-law. She is intimidating, but not evil.
Was it easy to play Bholi Punjaban again after a gap of four years?
It was an easy role to reprise but I remember for the first film, I had a tough time playing her. We all have this idea of how a woman is supposed to behave. I couldn’t believe that she’d say ‘daali’ nonchalantly. Bholi is very proud of her profession and she believes that everyone is a pimp in some way. But I thought she was coming off as just eccentric and weird. She breaks someone’s arm because he couldn’t pay a loan! On the first day of shoot, they took me to a high terrace in Chandni Chowk and made me scream ‘daali’ as loudly as I could. That’s when all inhibitions dropped.
You did Fukrey after Gangs of Wasseypur...
Ya. Almost immediately after Gangs (of Wasseypur), I finally got to work with people closer to my age. I could talk to them about regular stuff like Facebook or Twitter. On the sets of Gangs, they would all discuss what they did at NSD (National School of Drama) in 1975! (Laughs)
Did the Fukrey cast keep in touch in between the two films?
Fukrey and Masaan are two films where we’ve all kept in touch even after the films. Masaan not so much anymore, because everyone has got really busy. Now we meet once in three-four months, but Fukrey people I end up meeting once a month. Like Pulkit (Samrat) got a new air-fryer, so everyone met there to eat French fries. Or someone has a new hookah or they’ll call and ask for rajma. I am really fond of the boys. This group reminds me of the friends we’d have in school or college where everyone has your back. This kind of camaraderie is rare in the industry.
We are almost at the end of 2017. What kind of a year has it been for you?
It’s been a different year. I have refused about 10 really lucrative jobs. I don’t want to do films for any other reason except that I love the script. My past mistakes came to haunt me this year and I don’t want to be in this situation again. I want to explore other things and make movies that make me happy. I just need to patiently wait for a script so exciting that after I have read it, I can’t stop thinking about it.
We have to talk about Inside Edge that became such a hit!
Yes. When we started, none of us knew if it would work. It was a completely new format for all of us. As an actor, it was very liberating to work in a medium that’s not censored. Not that I am endorsing smoking or abusing, but it was nice to be able to do those things like a real person might. The second season will be even bigger. They are writing right now. We’ll start filming early next year and it should launch in the middle of 2018.
This is also the year that Ali Fazal and you decided to go public with your relationship. Was there planning that went into that decision?
We went public at a point when we couldn’t hide the relationship any longer. I wanted to be with him when his film (Victoria & Abdul) premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It was a big moment for him and I wanted to share that with him… and I also wanted to meet Dame Judi Dench! (Laughs) Honestly, we don’t want to talk about the relationship too much because it just brings a lot of scrutiny. People start linking your successes and failures to your partner. It gets too much.
Did love strike on the sets of Fukrey?
No… I think it was much later. Like I told you, we’d all hang out as a group and our relationship developed very organically. We are both very low-key. You’ll normally find us chilling at home... watching TV. My brother is a musician, so we have jam sessions. That’s our vibe. We have similar tastes. We like movies, theatre and music. It’s nice to have someone who is intellectually stimulating. I’d rather go for that than an obscure Delhi businessman who has a helicopter, you know!
What’s 2018 looking like for you?
The first quarter is going to be busy. Three Stories, the film with Excel, should release. We’ll start filming Inside Edge Season 2. Sudhir Mishra’s film DasDev and the international film Love Sonia are both complete.
Karishma Upadhyay
