“We live in India, I have to buy a gun” — this was actress Richa Chadha’s first thought when she learnt she has given birth to a baby girl, she said in a recent interview, recalling the emotional upheaval she experienced during the time.

“But then I thought, no, we will raise her to be strong like me,” she added.

The Heeramandi actress said she was overwhelmed and anxious when she found out she was expecting.

“I was a little bit afraid. There's climate change, there's a genocide, there's so much rubbish going on in the world. Is having a child a good idea?” she said in a recent appearance on Lily Singh’s podcast.

Chadha, who welcomed a baby girl with actor-husband Ali Fazal on July 16 last year, said the prospect of motherhood brought with it an immediate shift in perspective.

“When you are super independent, that bit changes instantly, because you have to be responsible for a human being,” she said.

Chadha also recalled how a documentary on artist Frida Kahlo — who once said she wished for a son because “it’s a man’s world” — resonated with her during pregnancy.

“It hurts me to admit it, but there is a kernel of truth in that,” she said. “No version of me accepts this as my reality, but growing up in India, it is true.”

She added that women, like men, have a role to play in challenging gender inequality. “Sometimes you catch yourself saying or doing something and realise it’s rooted in conditioning. That’s something we all need to address.”

Chadha was last seen as Lajjo in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar on Netflix.