Actress Richa Chadha was initially offered another role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical drama Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar but she chose to play the “self-destructive and lovelorn” Lajjo in a bid to surprise the audience, she said in an Instagram post on Thursday alongside a set of photos from her look test for the Netflix series in 2022.
“I was offered another part, but this is what I wanted to do, because it’s like dessert. You know you want more, but you can’t have it, because it’s unhealthy ! I wanted to play the अबला नारी, a woman with no agency, a self-destructive, lonely, lovelorn hopeless romantic,” the 37-year-old actress wrote.
Mentioning that she wanted to surprise the audience and leave them in tears with her portrayal of Lajjo, Richa asked fans, “You tell me if I have been successful at that?”
Richa said she was “overcome with emotion” when there was a spontaneous round of applause after her dance performance was shown on the screen at the premiere of the series.
“These images are from the look test for HeeraMandi, done in 2022, directed and supervised by the great SLB himself. He wanted the pain and pathos to show in each shot,” Richa wrote about the pictures, which show the actress in various regal costumes and different hairstyles.
The Fukrey actress recalled the time during the look test session when Bhansali asked her to play any music that would tune her into the mood of her character. “So I played YE KAISI AJAB DASTAN HO GAYI HAI, From the film Ruston Sohrab, 1963. To my surprise, he said ‘I like the other song from the same film better,’” Richa wrote.
Heaping praise on Bhansali, Richa said, “That’s the beauty of working with a man love-soaked in cinema, and to be honest I only want to work with directors that know way, way more than me.” She added, “It helps me grow as an artist and that’s what has happened here.”
Fans flooded the comment section with their love for Richa’s portrayal of Lajjo, a courtesan residing in Lahore’s oldest red-light district, Heeramandi. “Richaaaaaa you are so so so good in Heeramandi,” one of them wrote. “You are matchless Richa. Keep inspiring,” another fan commented.
Marking Bhansali’s OTT debut, the series follows the stories of love, passion, freedom and betrayal experienced by courtesans living in Heeramandi. Set against the backdrop of British-ruled India, it shows how the courtesans found themselves entangled in a constant power struggle with anti-colonial movements on the rise.
Also starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama series hit Netflix on May 1.
