Richa Chadha: I had the foresight to do web shows

Early bird in digital entertainment, Inside Edge 3 star Richa Chadha says she set foot in OTT world to bridge the gap between saas-bahu dramas and international shows

The success of Inside Edge has taught Richa Chadha what she knew all along — that going by her gut feeling will hold her in good stead. She came onboard the cricket drama, one of Amazon Prime Video’s first Indian originals, in 2017 when homegrown web content was still at a nascent stage and movie stars were maintaining a safe distance from it. Over four years and three seasons of the series later, the actor must feel validated being one of the early birds in the OTT revolution.

“I was not looking for validation at all [when I picked up the series]. I thought this is the way shows will happen in the future. That’s why I agreed to do it. I didn’t have any apprehension [about foraying into a new medium] because I was fairly confident,” says Chadha, explaining that she knew there was a gaping hole for intelligent shows that could appeal to the urban audience. “[I knew that] a bunch of people couldn’t relate to the TV offerings. They were watching original shows from abroad, but couldn’t relate [fully] to that either. So, here was a chance to bridge the gap between the saas-bahu TV shows and foreign originals, while also filling the gap between films and TV. I am happy I had the foresight to do it, and didn’t listen to anybody who told me not to do web shows.” The actor has since gone on to dabble in several digital offerings — from popular reality show One Mic Stand to the anthology, Unpaused.

Also Read: Richa Chadha on playing a woman character finding her way in a man’s world

Set against the backdrop of a cricket league, Inside Edge’s latest 10-part season shows Vivek Oberoi, Aamir Bashir, Sayani Gupta and Tanuj Virwani’s characters stoop lower in their quest for power and money. To Chadha, however, it was heartening to see her character Zarina Malik’s evolving graph. “She is calculating the damage that has been done to her emotionally, and will be vengeful about it. She became greedy in the second season, but she will not allow that to happen again. She is ensuring that she emerges victorious, while becoming the person she originally was — clean-hearted.”

Through her character, the series depicts how difficult it is for a woman to navigate her way in a man’s world. The truth is reflected in the male-dominated film industry as well. The actor doesn’t mince words as she argues that women in power will probably make the world a better place. “The world is dominated by men. Look at our cabinet and the different political parties. I feel if more women are in leadership roles, the world will be better. It will make the world more compassionate because women have the beautiful quality of patience. Even today, the countries, where women are in power, fared much better in handling the COVID [crisis]. I hope we have more women in leadership roles everywhere, from politics to writing to [film] production.”

It has been a satisfying 13 years for Chadha, who started out in the industry with Oye Lucky Lucky Oye! (2008), following it up with praiseworthy acts in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Fukrey (2013) and Masaan (2015). Asked what it takes to survive in this industry, she says, “There are only two options — the stuff that you won’t do, or the stuff you are comfortable with. I want to sleep peacefully at night. I don’t want any guilt or moral dilemmas. So, that makes my choices easy, and I prefer this [path] to anything else.”

Also read: Tanuj Virwani: It was the most gruelling season of Inside Edge

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