There are certain ways actors are often perceived, especially when it comes to their physicality and the way they appear on screen. Some of them even get typecast based on their character’s look for a particular movie. Richa Chadha, who has delivered several powerful performances in her career, from Gangs of Wasseypur to the recent web series Heeramandi, believes that it takes a lot of effort for an actor to break that perception, and it takes a director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali to look at an actor from a different and unique lens.

“I am happy I worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela and now in Heeramandi. He is an interesting creator. He values people who have talent. I have never heard him say things like ‘Iska kaam accha nahi hai, ya yeh sundar nahi hai’ about anyone. He has so much confidence in his abilities to present someone in the way that he wants to,” Richa explains.

Looking back at her journey, she elaborated, “When I entered the industry after Gangs Of Wasseypur, I had to battle some ridiculous notions like ‘She is older, she can’t speak English’. Some people would talk to other cast members nicely and talk to me in broken Hindi, assuming I wouldn’t understand English. I had to face this attitude. I felt belittled, and these people came from a place of ignorance because they didn’t even know how educated I was and what kind of family I came from. I am not looking down upon people who only speak in Hindi. It’s not about the language. Nawaz (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), at that point, did all his interviews in Hindi. Pankaj ji (Tripathi) is still more comfortable in Hindi. What irked me was that someone choosing to do a deglam part in a film shouldn’t be treated any less. It was assumed that I wasn’t capable of being glamorous because I played a certain part.”

The actress has huge respect for Bhansali for not following the herd. She said, “Bhansali loves his actors. Back then, it was difficult for me to break the perception that I could never look nice. Some filmmakers told me that I can’t be featured in songs because I can’t look a certain way. They just assumed that tum naach nahi sakte, ga nahi sakte. It’s bizarre. Who are you to tell someone what they can or cannot do?”

Talking about her training in Indian classical dance, Richa shares, “I have trained in Kathak. The industry had a lot of Bharatanatyam dancers like Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rehman, Vyajayanthimala and Hema Malini, but not many were trained in Kathak. Madhuri (Dixit) is among the few who are trained in Kathak, and I have always wanted Kathak to be showcased beautifully in our movies. That happened because of Bhansali, and I am grateful for it. When you truly love an art form, you also want that art form to progress.”