Richa Chadha has entertained us with all kind of films be it playing a mother in GANGS OF WASSEYPUR to a serious role in MASAAN to a very tough Delhi girl in FUKREY.

The actress will now be seen in web series Inside Edge playing yet another powerful role which will stun everyone.

In an exclusive conversation Richa spoke about her role, the film industry, how she was stereotyped, her wish to romance Shah Rukh Khan on-screen and many such interesting things.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

RICHA CHADHA HD PHOTO GALLERY

Tell us about your role in Inside Edge?
I play a Bollywood actress Zarine who owns a team in Power Play League. The show is shot like a movie, and it’s about what all game goes behind this sports league.

There were reports that your role is inspired by Preity Zinta?
It’s nothing like that, Farhan and Preity are fiends and that’s all, it’s not inspired by any role or character.

What excited you about this role?
To be honest, I have done so many films with offbeat characters that I got stereotyped as that I don’t know Hindi and I am those arty types.  There were instances wherein people thought I can’t speak English and in some events media would only ask me questions in Hindi, I took this role as it’s a story of a normal girl, it has power and most importantly I speak English. it’s not that I am have any regrets that I did a certain role but I have been stereotyped and now would want to play a girl next door and make it iconic.

She went on to add.
The role is not about sports its more about power it’s about how a women who owns a team deals with politics and acts as a boss. She is tough but eventually she is a victim. There is also one thing that I follow that is for every character I use a different perfume for instance, for Zarine I choose an elite brand of perfume as she is classy and rich, while for GANGS OF WASSESPUR I used a mogra scent as that gelled with the role. As we have 5 senses I can’t change any, I can play with smell, perfumes help me get into the skin of the character. When I do a serious film it starts affecting me so I watch comedy films even when I was playing the role of Zarine in Inside Edge I made sure that I watch all animated movies

Do you watch cricket?
Yes I do watch international cricket, I believe one must have sportsman spirit, winning and losing is just part and parcel of game. I like watching IPL coz its fun. I am interested in ODI as well.

How is Richa Chadha as a person?
I am straight forward person and I am very easy going. I am very kind and its takes me time to get angry, I don’t get angry easily but when I reach that stage I am done with that person. So you can say I am extreme.

How do you deal with social media?
Yes, Anushka Sharma, Swara Bhaskar and me everyone speaks their mind, some guys say stupid things and it’s their job to do so. For these people trolls are a way of earning. Let them have fun… and I block such people who unnecessarily bug me.

What are the other web series that you watch?
I like watching web series, I mostly watch American Gods, and they are really good. I Love Sex and The City, Friends, House Of Cards and few others.

Does competition bother you?
Competition is everywhere, firstly this series is VOD (video on demand) the medium is web. As far as competition is concerned this show has so many talented performers like, there is an Irish actor, an American actor, and we have Angad Bedi, Vivek Oberoi. Such web shows help actors from all across the globe to connect and act together.

How much box office numbers matter to you?
It matters every time if a film like MASAAN or any other film on such subjects gets good business more and more producers will invest in such films.

What is that one role that you haven’t got till date and you aspire for?
(Laughs) Truly I have always got roles of a mother, a serious role aging ones or a gundi wala role, and that’s not like me in real life. I want to do a normal role, a romantic girl next door romance with Shah Rukh Khan.  Nothing has been offered till now, but hopefully one day they will.

How was it working with Vivek Oberoi?
It was great. He is super knowledgeable.  I remember when I was studying, his film SAATHIYA had come and I was in school and the ring tone of SAATHIYA was indeed popular. I like his films.

Who according to you is the most beautiful actor?
Rekhaji has a very nice deep voice. She is so elegant and graceful. I feel we have lost that generation, the beautiful era of Waheeda Rehman, Madhuri,Sridevi.

Why don’t you consider yourself beautiful?
I do but the industry doesn’t. For them the beauty is being fair skin, I have done arty roles; I have nothing against the industry or anyone. Now when I appear in events I have groomed myself and appear the way I want. I have my own styling. Too much make up and being polished all the time is not what I can do.

Bollywood SULTAN Salman Khan doesn’t keep dues for long. Bhai has paid back to Shah Rukh Khan for doing a cameo in his TUBELIGHT.

Yes, according to our sources close to the production, Salman Khan will feature in a special song in SRK’s next with Aanand L Rai.

SHAH RUKH KHAN AND SALMAN KHAN

While we don’t know whether the song will be a solo or feature SRK also, there is a possibility that Salman might share the screen with his alleged ex Katrina Kaif for the song.

While we are dying to know the details, it seems the bonding between god old pals Salman and Shah Rukh has taken a rebirth. Both are promoting each other’s film and paying back favors without much delay.

B-town quotient of relentless energy Ranveer Singh has something special for Alia Bhatt. As we know both are pairing together in Zoya Akhtar’s GULLY BOY, now we come to know that the talented Ranveer will show his rapping skills in the movie and will compose his own rap numbers.

Wow!! A source close to the production informs that Zoya Akhtar has given Ranveer full liberty in showcasing his rapping skills and going by the talent Alia Bhatt possess as a singer, GULLY BOY seems to have perfect casting.

It is learnt that Ranveer will prepare a special song for this film based on street rappers and that’s not all, Alia and Ranveer will croon together in this film.

It is learnt that Ranveer has already started polishing his voice to sound special for Alia.

The premier new release of the week, Salman-Zhu Zhu starrer, TUBELIGHT, saw a good (Delhi-NCR & East Punjab) to decent (rest of the territories) start. The 40-45 percent start (during pre-Eid) could have been considered good, for a normal top 5 star film, but coming from the unbeatable Kabir-Salman team (EK THA TIGER & BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN), and that too during the Eid week, it is somewhat of a disappointment. Even the latter shows have not shown a very encouraging upward trend, and the first day appears to be around the 20-21 crore mark, as per rough initial estimates.

TUBELIGHT and BANK CHOR

What is all the more alarming is that the massy centres too have not opened to the usual bumper start, associated with Salman’s films off late. Having said that, we are not surprised because we had hinted at it in our box-office column.

There can be many reasons for that, the biggest being that ever since his comeback (WANTED), Salman Khan has essayed a larger than life and invincible image, which is not the case with TUBELIGHT, where the superstar plays a weak character. In fact casting Sohail Khan (rejected repeatedly by the audience) as Salman’s inspiration and mentor is the biggest blunder!

All said and done, TUBELIGHT will manage a good extended Eid weekend, but the start and the not so good audience feedback does not augur well for the box-office prospects of the film.

Meanwhile, last week’s Vivek-Riteish starrer, BANK CHOR could just about muster 8 crore (to be validated) during the opening week from India and will have to rely on non-theatrical rights for recovery.

Ranbir Kapoor is known for putting his heart and soul in everything he does, be it biopic of Sanjay Dutt where he looks doppelganger of Baba or the cute boy that he plays in JAGGA JASOOS.

Interestingly for Sanjay Dutt’s biopic Ranbir had put lot of weight and post that he lost 11 kgs for his role in JAGGA JASSOS.

RANBIR KAPOOR

A source close to the film revealed, “Ranbir Kapoor who has left the audience enchanted with his look and mannerisms in JAGGA JASOOS left no stone unturned to ace his act. The actor shredded nearly 11 kgs to get into the shoes of JAGGA JASOOS. Ranbir Kapoor will be seen portraying the role of a school boy in his upcoming musical adventure film. The talented actor who will be seen in a younger avatar on-screen opted to lose his muscles in order to match Anurag Basu's vision.”

Ranbir Kapoor known to be a director's actor effortlessly slips into his onscreen characters and he did no different for JAGGA JASOOS.

The actor exhibited his dedication to JAGGA JASOOS by not only nailing his act but also by undergoing a physical transformation.

From his hairstyle to geeky look to his geeky acts and his quirky dance, Ranbir has really worked hard to get into the skin of his character in JAGGA JASOOS.

JAGGA JASOOS directed by Anurag Basu is all set to hit the silver screens on July 14.

Director Kabir Khan’s TUBELIGHT starring Salman Khan and Sohail Khan that releases today is the third time when the audience will get to experience the magic of this hit director-actor jodi all over again. In a candid conversation Kabir Khan opened about how Salman has evolved as an actor and also how Salman taught him to take cinematic liberties while he taught the actor that how after a point logic does matter.

Here are the excerpts:

SALMAN KHAN AND KABIR KHAN AT TUBELIGHT TRAILER LAUNCH

You are working with Salman for the third time so what all changes did you notice in him?
I see an evolution of approach, I mean in EK THA TIGER he was little blasé like we have done it all and we don’t need to prove it to anybody then from there in BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN I saw him getting involved with the character. He would start thinking like the character, like what would Bajrangi do in a given situation. But then Bajrangi came very easily to him because of his inherent charm. He is a very charming person when he wants to be (smiles). I think we were basically doing that making him bit of a simpleton.

And in TUBELIGHT?
TUBELIGHT is far more complicated. Laxman (Salman’s character in TUBELIGHT) is a character which is his toughest role till date because he is not just a simpleton but he is actually playing a man child so he can never look normal and also he can never look off. It is very easy to go a little over the top in these kinds of portrayals which is often seen in Bollywood or Hollywood. But I think it’s doubly difficult for Salman because playing a man child, see it’s a Salman Khan approaching that, if a new comer had been in his place it would have difficult enough but then he wouldn’t have baggage. Here it’s a man (Salman) who is an epitome of Machismo or action hero in our industry who is suddenly is playing a vulnerable, sensitive boy man character. But I think he has pulled it off.

As you said that he is an epitome of machismo then how did you get him on board to play such a vulnerable character?
I think the journey started in BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN especially with the commercial success that it got. It was then we then realized that the audience is open to accept him in different avatar and I have often said this that it’s the industry that actually limits itself by thinking “Yaar yeh audience ko nahi chahiye”. I mean audience is open heartedly accepting anything which is new, refreshing and good stories. Story is king, it’s definitely today bigger than any of the stars and all of them put together. I think BAAHUBALI too proved that the story is what ultimately matters the most.

So I think it was very easy for me when I narrated TUBELIGHT Salman immediately identified with the character and what the character stood for. I think for him it’s not so much the character now it has become important for him that what the character stands for or the values this character is sending out to the audiences and in TUBELIGHT I think he open heartedly adopted this character.

So what all preparations Salman did in order to get into the skin of this character?
Preparations are something that Salman Khan will never admit to(smiles) because I think it’s not cool enough to do that but this is the first time I found him struggling to in a way to get hold of this character. He would start calling me in the middle of night saying “Arre kuch reference de” I said “Main kahan se doon ? Koi reference hi nahi hai!” then he said “Hollywood me koi reference hai kya? I told him there is nothing as such. Then he would keep asking things like would the character do this or would the character do that. So just sitting and thinking about this character was his preparation. He usually goes by his gut instincts but for this film I saw him prepare which was heartening to see.

How did your sensibility influence Salman and vice versa?
Sometimes I get stuck in a rut of finding logic and finding context to everything so Salman has helped me to probably get out of it. I think both Aditya Chopra and Salman have helped me by saying sometimes you just need to fly and if you take a cinematic liberty then don’t be so disturbed by it. He has helped me sometimes approach a scene with more flair and sometimes throwing the logic out of the window, though not to an extreme extent but sometimes it really doesn’t matter so that’s one thing and vice versa after a point I would tell him dude it does matter so I think it’s the blending of both the sensibilities that has really worked for the audience. He allows me to fly a little I don’t allow him to fly too much.

Well with the kind of mixed reviews that TUBELIGHT has garnered so far how we wished that Kabir had stuck to his logical reasoning approach. Nevertheless we are pretty much sure that Salman Khan’s fans love for their idol will keep the cash registers ringing and also the festive season will work in the film’s favor.