Richa says Masaan 'cleanses you'
When I called Richa Chadha for a catch up at about 10:30 pm on a weeknight, our conversation was punctuated by pressure cooker whistles. She apologised that she just got back from a long day of rehearsals, her maid had done a bunk and so she was cooking dinner. And was not thrilled about it, but needs must. She was both more and less than I had expected. After the success of Masaan (two prizes at Cannes, a five minute standing ovation, critical acclaim now that its released here, and in multiplexes anyway, full houses) I had expected a few airs, a few cliches, some feigned modesty-but no, here she was relaxed, easy, full of candour, not a whiff of early stage diva-dom, agonising mostly about the state of the cabbage she was cooking. And this when, the tide has officially turned.
She is, of course, thrilled at the response to this brave, little, big film. "Once I saw the film, for the first time at Cannes, I knew it would work. Its a very human story, very positive and its been a while since we was one of those. Its so optimistic, it leaves you with hope. Its like a good cry, it cleanses you," she says.
But no, she couldn't have anticipated the reception it received: "I will never forget the time I experienced that five minute ovation. For the rest of my life I will remember it. How many can say that, how many can brag that they were loved and appreciated this much, in this way?" And its not just the big ones, it's the small ones too. She recounts how a woman who came up to her and wanted to speak but instead just kept crying. "A woman from Finland watching a film in Benarsi with subtitles, but she got it."
She tells me about a close friend, who finally saw it, and came back saying 'each film you do is a competition to yourself.' Richa considers that the highest of compliments, also because "she's really sadiyal otherwise, so I was quite happy to hear that."
And perhaps it's that candour that sets her aside. Our conversation was littered with political incorrectness (too many to recount!) but she gets away with it. "I get away with a lot because they think I'm quirky. When its the absolute truth no one minds and when they see you don't mean it badly. When your absolutely, consistently truthful it works." She pauses, "Quirky helps."
And for proof of just how quirky look no further than her Twitter bio:
Sexuality - the freedom to embrace it, the hope that someday it will be treated as regular is vital to her. In life and onscreen. It was one of the things that excited her about Masaan, and gratified her in the response to it. "She's a liberal character - very empowered. A girl who is rebelling but without saying it. She doesn't give in, but knows she can't fight her dad with 5000 years of mythology behind him, but she still stays strong. She's so different from other characters I've done," she says. "And the women in France related so much, because they're by far the most emancipated particularly as relates to gender and so when they related I thought: ok I've done my job well. We make sexuality such a big thing here. And we've got so many different reactions as a result from different classes of people. When the producers showed it to our spot boys, in the trailer, you can see she's doing something an then she gets busted, they thought "accha tha ki paap kiya, to punishment aa gaya.""
She sees a responsibility in the roles she choose-she would never do one that promotes hatred or violence or even cruelty to animals. (She's got a fair amount of flak for comments on the beef ban.)
And she's the first to say, none of this is easy all the time: "It's been difficult, not at all easy. Sometimes you're facing six months of joblessness and you have moments of self doubt. You can't do crap films so you have to wait it out - those spells are very hard. You see people coming in - star kids, Miss Indias and they're getting launched in such huge ways. And the press is very unforgiving. Tabloid channels will say things like, 'lagta hai ki in ke pass no kaam nahi hai.' They would run a full half hour because you're seen having a cup of coffee!"
"After Oye Lucky I didnt know what to do, how to handle things. If I had known better I maybe another film would have happened faster. It took two years for Gangs of Wasseypur to happen. My dad once told me, look at Konkona Sen Sharma, look at movies in her space, because he thought I was chasing glamour! And this is my own very liberal, well meaning father!"
But, hopefully all that is now a thing of the past, so much has happened, so much has changed. "I saw my posters all over the city in France, somewhere I only dreamt of. In college you think Subhash Ghai milega to badi baat hoga. You can't imagine that that you'll ever get to France," Richa says.
And now of course there's the next stage. The rehearsals she's been so busy with are for Pooja Bhatt's Cabaret. A change of pace, a fresh challenge-exactly the way she likes it. Right down to the moves and grooves that the part calls for. "It's a totally different grammar of film, I'm doing songs and lip-sync for the first time, and have to pretend to be totally cool! It's fun! See, there's no lying about the fact that we all grew up on this kind of cinema and so it feels natural. I'm not pseudo! it is great fun."
And perhaps it's just the change of pace she needs. She celebrates the success of Masaan but also that of Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. She's smart enough to have figured out the more money floods in, the better it is for the industry and for her. She's started paying attention to the trade, to all of it. The adventure has begun in earnest and it's clear she plans to embrace every bit of it.
Aneesha Baig is NDTV's Lifestyle Editor and Anchor, Will Travel For Food
She is, of course, thrilled at the response to this brave, little, big film. "Once I saw the film, for the first time at Cannes, I knew it would work. Its a very human story, very positive and its been a while since we was one of those. Its so optimistic, it leaves you with hope. Its like a good cry, it cleanses you," she says.
But no, she couldn't have anticipated the reception it received: "I will never forget the time I experienced that five minute ovation. For the rest of my life I will remember it. How many can say that, how many can brag that they were loved and appreciated this much, in this way?" And its not just the big ones, it's the small ones too. She recounts how a woman who came up to her and wanted to speak but instead just kept crying. "A woman from Finland watching a film in Benarsi with subtitles, but she got it."
She tells me about a close friend, who finally saw it, and came back saying 'each film you do is a competition to yourself.' Richa considers that the highest of compliments, also because "she's really sadiyal otherwise, so I was quite happy to hear that."
And perhaps it's that candour that sets her aside. Our conversation was littered with political incorrectness (too many to recount!) but she gets away with it. "I get away with a lot because they think I'm quirky. When its the absolute truth no one minds and when they see you don't mean it badly. When your absolutely, consistently truthful it works." She pauses, "Quirky helps."
And for proof of just how quirky look no further than her Twitter bio:
Sexuality - the freedom to embrace it, the hope that someday it will be treated as regular is vital to her. In life and onscreen. It was one of the things that excited her about Masaan, and gratified her in the response to it. "She's a liberal character - very empowered. A girl who is rebelling but without saying it. She doesn't give in, but knows she can't fight her dad with 5000 years of mythology behind him, but she still stays strong. She's so different from other characters I've done," she says. "And the women in France related so much, because they're by far the most emancipated particularly as relates to gender and so when they related I thought: ok I've done my job well. We make sexuality such a big thing here. And we've got so many different reactions as a result from different classes of people. When the producers showed it to our spot boys, in the trailer, you can see she's doing something an then she gets busted, they thought "accha tha ki paap kiya, to punishment aa gaya.""
She sees a responsibility in the roles she choose-she would never do one that promotes hatred or violence or even cruelty to animals. (She's got a fair amount of flak for comments on the beef ban.)
And she's the first to say, none of this is easy all the time: "It's been difficult, not at all easy. Sometimes you're facing six months of joblessness and you have moments of self doubt. You can't do crap films so you have to wait it out - those spells are very hard. You see people coming in - star kids, Miss Indias and they're getting launched in such huge ways. And the press is very unforgiving. Tabloid channels will say things like, 'lagta hai ki in ke pass no kaam nahi hai.' They would run a full half hour because you're seen having a cup of coffee!"
"After Oye Lucky I didnt know what to do, how to handle things. If I had known better I maybe another film would have happened faster. It took two years for Gangs of Wasseypur to happen. My dad once told me, look at Konkona Sen Sharma, look at movies in her space, because he thought I was chasing glamour! And this is my own very liberal, well meaning father!"
But, hopefully all that is now a thing of the past, so much has happened, so much has changed. "I saw my posters all over the city in France, somewhere I only dreamt of. In college you think Subhash Ghai milega to badi baat hoga. You can't imagine that that you'll ever get to France," Richa says.
And now of course there's the next stage. The rehearsals she's been so busy with are for Pooja Bhatt's Cabaret. A change of pace, a fresh challenge-exactly the way she likes it. Right down to the moves and grooves that the part calls for. "It's a totally different grammar of film, I'm doing songs and lip-sync for the first time, and have to pretend to be totally cool! It's fun! See, there's no lying about the fact that we all grew up on this kind of cinema and so it feels natural. I'm not pseudo! it is great fun."
And perhaps it's just the change of pace she needs. She celebrates the success of Masaan but also that of Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. She's smart enough to have figured out the more money floods in, the better it is for the industry and for her. She's started paying attention to the trade, to all of it. The adventure has begun in earnest and it's clear she plans to embrace every bit of it.
Aneesha Baig is NDTV's Lifestyle Editor and Anchor, Will Travel For Food
