After her triumphant outing in Cannes last year for the soul-searing Masaan, the darling of indie cinema proudly celebrates her bold individuality with her unusual career choices. Actor Richa Chadha, in a freewheeling conversation with Shashi Baliga, talks about breaking out, shedding her inhibitions and walking the red carpet to success
The mid-morning sun slants its way into the hotel room, lights up Richa Chadha’s amber eyes and hots up her bare, naked face. It’s an unforgiving light; one that nothing less than flawless, silken skin could shine through. The actor is blessed with that kind of skin. So are quite a few other actresses. But no actress I have ever met (including some legendary beauties) would let herself be seen by a journalist in that utterly vulnerable state; make-up is as good a defence as any against the prying eyes and ears of the press. And then there’s the need to preserve the illusion — stars will arrive for the make-up marathon that is needed before a photo shoot with oversized sunglasses, whoosh in, say hurried hellos, rush into the make-up room, bolt the door and emerge only when their public face is ready to be seen.
Not Richa Chadha. She parks herself near the sunlit French windows, where the make-up artist has asked her to sit — and submits to her ministrations and my questions. “I can’t see you, but I can hear you… we can talk,” she assures me, her low voice sounding even more softspoken as she talks through dabs of foundation and her busy hands. She enjoys photo shoots and says, “I find posing difficult, but I find the whole experience interesting.” She has also learnt to pay more attention to her wardrobe. “When I first started out, I had a casual, everyday approach to it, as if I was dressing for college (St. Stephen’s, Delhi). I wasn’t necessarily the most well-groomed person, but I took chances. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t. I’ve worked on it and figured it out.”
Denne historien er fra January 2016-utgaven av Verve.
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Denne historien er fra January 2016-utgaven av Verve.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
