Richa Chadha made all the right noises with her performance as Lajjo in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. The actress’ expressions in the song Masoom Dil Hai Mera touched a million hearts. But did you know that Richa and Sanjay Leela Bhansali got into a heated argument during the song? In a conversation with India Today, the filmmaker got candid about the incident. Sanjay Leela Bhansali said that he got a “little upset” when Richa wasn’t able to deliver the expressions. He said, “That was a special moment. But unka baith nahi raha tha [Her performance wasn’t landing]. She was trying, but I wasn’t getting what I wanted. After a point, I got a little upset. I said, ‘You’ve rehearsed it, but it’s still not falling in place, you’re not getting the state of mind’. I got a little angry, and she became upset as well. To vo thodi naraz hokar samne khadi rahi. [She was upset and standing in front of the camera].”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali continued, “The anger on her face was so special. That moment was a result of what I said to her and what she said to me. But it got captured during the recording of the song. In all the songs that I’ve shot… very big music numbers I have shot… this was one of the rare moments of an actor feeling the humiliation of the scene that she went through rather than feeling the humiliation of me getting angry and saying, ‘How many takes will you want?’ The anger was from both sides, but you need to be in that state of mind because till then it won’t come on your face. Another actor might have stormed off the set in anger, but Richa and I both understood that the shot is more important, the song is more important, the scene is more important, and the series is more important than you and me.”
The filmmaker revealed that after Richa Chadha gave a brilliant shot the whole unit burst into cheers for her.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “When she did it I got up, the whole unit clapped, I went and hugged her, and we forgot about all that had happened before the shot. But sometimes, you have to arrive at that moment. An actor should be ready to arrive at that moment. A director has to wait and bring the actor to that moment. If you are taking too many takes, and I scold you, then you will feel the humiliation that the character was meant to show. When I was watching it, I thought, ‘She’s actually crying. She is actually very disturbed.’ She held on to every beat. It was a very complicated shot. Lots of movements and shots. Till the last moment, she didn’t let go of that anger and frustration. I went to her after the shot. I said ‘Sorry if I said something to you. She said ‘I am sorry if I had something to you.’ So it was the moment that was waiting to happen.”
Now, Richa Chadha has shared the clip of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s interaction and wrote, “Sir said some nice things about me…thank you for these words. Thank you for the opportunity! Every day I get so many DMs and compliments about that one single, round trolley shot…I bottled up my tears and used them in the take, and truly, thank you for whatever happened between us on that final day. A whole lot of love to you Mr Bhansali, and a big hug, artist to auteur.”
Heeramandi premiered on Netflix on May 1. Apart from Richa Chadha, the series features Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Shaikh, and Sharmin Segal in key roles. On Monday, the makers announced the next season of Heeramandi. Read all about it here.
