LIVE:
Heeramandi fame, Richa Chadha talks about choosing her role of ethereal Lajjo: Ditched a much bigger role offered by the director!
Upon its release yesterday, on 1st May 2024, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar has oozed and whacked the Indian period drama fanatics, especially the ones who long for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's breathtaking grandeur finesse. The whopping drama series has roped off some of the most ethereal characters portrayed by the Indian actresses, and been able to impress audiences like absolutely none. The huge ensemble of female star casts included actresses from the starry front of Indian cinema, including the Masaan fame Richa Chadha in the soul-igniting role of Lajjo.
But according to a recent revelation, Richa Chadha was initially offered a much larger role in the series but however, the actress decided to stick with Lajjo as it looked more promising among the audience. Now as the enthralling series went public, she was indeed correct in her decision, as Lajjo has engraved an impeccable and profound impact on the viewers. With the recognizable impact Lajjo's character holds, Chadha could not resist but play the most heart-breaking arc, more sort of the female version of Devdas.
Recently, while speaking of her marvelous role of Lajjo, Richa revealed, "When I was approached for Heeramandi, at the time Sanjay sir was the showrunner and I had been offered another part, one with more screentime for sure. But because an actor also needs to see what's in here that's new for me, I chose Lajjo." Proceeding further with her role, "I have experimented with characters that have a grey shade, like Bholi Punjaban or Tara in Madam Chief Minister. Basically, I get accused of playing only empowered characters, so I felt the need to break that stereotype and surprise the audience. I wanted to play the part of a hopeless romantic and leave the audience with goosebumps. That's exactly what's happening. People are calling me in tears. Hence, when sir told me to come and check this character out, I was immediately drawn to Lajjo. I was certain this would pay off and it has. The love within 24 hours has been overwhelming. Right from industry peers to filmmakers to friends and audiences have sent me such amazing love, I couldn’t be more grateful," the actress added.
Meanwhile, just as she said, within 24 hours of the television series hitting the OTT screens, people nearly went gaga on her moving role and poured their hearts out for shining in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial like no other. On X, people are basking on Lajjo, one among whom has written, "Richa Chadha shines the most." While another user wrote, "Richa Chadha shines the most" followed by a third user calling her phenomenal.
Led by all women, the Netflix television series is set in pre-independent India and revolves around the life of the courtesans when they were treated as equals as queens. Starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sh=anjeeda Sheikh, and Sharmin Sehgal, it is an intense historical drama that takes the audiences around the themes of 'love, power and freedom'.
- PTC PUNJABI
