Richa Chadha drank alcohol to perform dance sequence in Heeramandi: ‘It made things worse..’

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is beingwidely discussed. While, some are praising the show for its grandeur, and cast while others are liking the performance of the actors. Albeit, there is also a section that slams the series for its lack of historical accuracy. Nevertheless, the show continues to make headlines, and the most recent one is about actor Richa Chaddha.

In the eight-episode series, Richa played the role of Lajjo, a heartbroken courtesan who is in deep love with a Nawab. In a limited screen presence, Richa managed to impress the audience with her performance. Onescene for which she has garnered a huge round of applause from the audience is her drunken dance at the Nawab's wedding.

Discussing the scene, the actor revealed that despite being a teetotaler, she decided to drink a few shots of gin.

Heeramandi: The real 'regal' story of tawaifs who inspired Sanjay Leela Bhansali's series

Talking about the challenges she faced while filming the dance scene, Richa said in an interview with Zoom, "On the first day, I wasn’t getting it, to do the drunk dancing. So, after 30-40 takes, I thought let me have a quarter and see what happens.''

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in)

''I did have some gin. I drank a little bit, but it made things worse. I didn’t want that lethargy in the body movement, I wanted some of it, maybe the precision can go but I didn’t want to let go of the grace,” Richa

Despite drinking, Richa said it was better to pretend.“I was better off pretending to be drunk than actually getting a little tipsy. It is a technical job, no matter how much I dance, my dress is so heavy, I have to hit that mark, interact. It was fun for me to do,” she added.

Elaborating further on the method of acting, Richa added, ''I can't do it'' because she is “already too much into it”.

Heeramandi review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali delivers a riveting story in a familiar set up

“I can safely say that for every scene I have done on this show, and I know there aren’t too many, I was 100 per cent into it. I was not distracted while giving cues also to someone else, I was not out of character even when I was dancing. It took a lot from me, but I loved it,” she said.

Earlier, Chadha revealed that she had been offered a different role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's web series. Despite being offered a bigger role, Richa deliberately chose the character of Lajjo.

Reflecting on her decision, Richa shares, "When I was approached for Heeramandi, at the time Sanjay sir was the showrunner and I had been offered another part, one with more screentime for sure. But because an actor also needs to see, what's in here that's new for me, I chose Lajjo. 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 empowerd 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."