The newbie mom and producer opens up about the many changes in her life
With her debut production ready for release and new parenting joys with daughter Zuneyra, Richa Chadha opens up about balancing work, family, and indie cinema’s challenges. (Image by arrangement)
Richa Chadha has her hands full, between parenting duties and promoting her maiden production Girls Will Be Girls. But she gives full marks to her husband, Ali Fazal, for doing his bit for their five-month-old daughter Zuneyra Ida Fazal. “Since I feed the baby, which Ali can’t do, he does burping and diaper duties. He is very good at it...he is a great partner that way,” she beams.
Though she is still discovering changes in herself, Richa feels motherhood has been fairly simple so far. She is conscious that once the baby grows, so will the challenges. “As of now, it’s just about making sure the baby is fed, bathed etc., but after that comes the rest of your life to figure out what parenting is really about. It cannot be easy being born to parents who are actors,” she says candidly.
Produced by Richa and Ali’s production company Pushing Buttons, Girls will be Girls, helmed by debutante director Shuchi Talati, is a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl who shares a complicated relationship with her mother, and finds her way back to the one woman she always puts last. A simple yet poignant story, which won critical acclaim at the Toronto and Sundance International Film festivals, the film is all set for release in India. “I would love to see the same unity and compassion develop between me and my daughter as in the film,” says Richa.
Acting comes first always
Talking about work, she says, “Acting will always be my first love. Production is very, very hard. But I think being a producer is a good way to go out there and tell people what you believe in. As an actor, unless you are using social media and promoting extensively, people don’t get an insight into your mind, perspectives and ideology. I always wanted to back things I believe in. Right now, I am planning the promotions for the release.”
Acting comes first always
Talking about work, she says, “Acting will always be my first love. Production is very, very hard. But I think being a producer is a good way to go out there and tell people what you believe in. As an actor, unless you are using social media and promoting extensively, people don’t get an insight into your mind, perspectives and ideology. I always wanted to back things I believe in. Right now, I am planning the promotions for the release.”
She says both she and her husband are willing to push boundaries when it comes to art and expression. “We were both reading a play script which is with a travelling company, and all I was thinking was, ‘Can the nanny travel?’ ‘How wonderful it would be to travel across India and the world with the baby before she needs to start school!’ Both of us have always lived in the flow.”
Big players have benefits
On the ongoing debate around how big players and producers tend to dominate screen space, making it difficult for indie films to get theatres, Richa believes the odds are stacked against smaller films in more ways than one, though exhibitors feel it’s a question of supply vs. audience demand. “The costs that are incurred over each release are so high, that even if there was not a massive film occupying all the theatres, it’s still difficult to manage a release. Cinemas are like an F&B business, and ticket prices are scary for any middle-class person, given the economy today. To increase sales, we need strategies and more screens in India. The death of the single screen has been a terrible blow for cinema because big players can well afford multiplexes and their soaring prices, but the small-time players can’t,” she notes.
Big players have benefits
On the ongoing debate around how big players and producers tend to dominate screen space, making it difficult for indie films to get theatres, Richa believes the odds are stacked against smaller films in more ways than one, though exhibitors feel it’s a question of supply vs. audience demand. “The costs that are incurred over each release are so high, that even if there was not a massive film occupying all the theatres, it’s still difficult to manage a release. Cinemas are like an F&B business, and ticket prices are scary for any middle-class person, given the economy today. To increase sales, we need strategies and more screens in India. The death of the single screen has been a terrible blow for cinema because big players can well afford multiplexes and their soaring prices, but the small-time players can’t,” she notes.
Richa was also all praise for the efforts of filmmakers such as Payal Kapadia, whose All We Imagine as Light tasted success at Cannes and has been nominated for the Golden Globe. “It's going to be exciting, because I feel, the more there is pushback in other ways, the more cinema will flourish,” she says.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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