Actress Richa Chadha, who is garnering praise for her work in auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, shared that she was offered a different role in the show but she chose the character of Lajjo. The actress shared that despite being offered a role with more screen time, she decided to portray Lajjo owing to her heartbreaking arc in the show. Richa felt that the resemblance of her character in the show to Meena Kumari from Pakeezah and a female version of Devdas would definitely leave an impact.
Reflecting on her decision, Richa said: “When I was approached for Heeramandi, at the time Sanjay was the showrunner, and I had been offered another part, the one with more screen time for sure. But because an actor also needs to see what’s in here that’s new for me, I chose Lajjo.”
She continued, “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 a part of a hopeless romantic and leave the audience with gooseflesh. That’s exactly what’s happening. People are calling me in tears.”
Richa also revealed that when SLB asked her to check the character of Lajjo, she was immediately drawn to the role.
Furthermore, the Kathak dance sequence performed by Lajjo holds special significance for Richa, a trained Kathak dancer herself.
“I’ve always harboured a desire to incorporate Kathak dance into my on-screen roles, and ‘Heeramandi’ provided the perfect opportunity to do so. As a trained Kathak dancer, bringing Lajjo’s dance number to life was a fulfilling experience for me, adding another layer of authenticity to the character,” she added.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is streaming on Netflix.