Mumbai— Actor Richa Chadha, widely admired today for her boldness and outspoken personality, says her confidence is the result of years of inner work — not something she was born with. Speaking at IFP Season 15, the Fukrey and Heeramandi star opened up about how she once struggled to assert herself.
“The person you see today — confident, bold, ‘bindaas’ — I wasn’t always like this,” Richa said. “In my 20s, I was such a pushover that one day I woke up on a set thinking, When did I sign this movie? Why am I doing this item-song kind of gyration?”
She recalled being pushed into roles and routines she didn’t believe in, including being told she needed a male choreographer for “dated” dance moves. The realisation, she said, was jarring: “Somebody just comes, like a manager, telling you what to do, and you think this is what you should be doing.”
Richa spoke candidly about the constant judgement women face in the film industry — including comments about their face, body, and even strict instructions to stop drinking water or consuming salt before shoots.
“I’ve done all these things,” she admitted. “I’ve cursed myself, beaten up my body, bashed my mind. I’d think, I suck, this is terrible. But the world does that to you.”
Her message to young artists was clear: confidence can be built, boundaries can be learned, and fearlessness is often a hard-earned transformation. (Source: IANS)
