The scene-stealers of current generation : Bollywood News

Power-packed last names, glitzy launches, gushing PR-they have none of that. But you remember the characters they have played. In star-sodden Bollywood, they raise the bar for acting. Heres bringing you the new pack of actors the industry cant stop talking about

Richa Chadda

Instant Recall: The irrepressible Dolly who played Neetu Chandras sister in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Richas Story So Far: You have to be a really good actress to make a director run away from you because he thinks you are as crass as the character you played on screen. It happened with Richa Chadda when she bumped into Bheja Fry director Sagar Bellary. He was very aloof with me because he thought like Dolly, I was totally obnoxious and would not even know how to converse in English. I took that as a huge compliment, says the History Honours student from St Stephens College, Delhi with a laugh.

The 23-year-old Delhi girl started her acting journey as a tomato. Er, you read that right. That was her role in her school play where she had to dance to a jingle with lines like, Tamatar bade mazedar. She enrolled in Barry Johns acting class in Delhi and came out with grade B in acting. Not happy with the grade, she decided to join the same course again in Mumbai. I wanted an A. So I did just that and topped my diploma class, she says. A casting director spotted her in Johns play Baghdad Ka Ghulam, which led to an audition with Dibakar Banerjee for Oye Lucky....It was a weird audition. Dibakar wanted me to act like a 15-year-old boy who was with the young Abhay in the first half. I didnt know what was happening, she says. The famous seduction scene also has an interesting back-story. Richa, who was down with fever, kept passing out between shots. Thats when co-star Abhay Deol suggested she take a shot of brandy. I kept on sipping brandy between shots. It was a surreal experience, she says.

Richas desi girl act has earned her congratulatory text messages from Ram Gopal Varma, Kundan Shah, Sudhir Mishra and Anurag Kashyap. Ive gained respect from directors and thats what matters the most, she says. Coming up next is an experimental film with Santosh Sivan and a family entertainer with a big banner. After Oye Lucky! Ive been getting similar roles like that of a seductive secretary. They tell me, Madam Four scenes mein impact kar ke chale jaayiye. But I dont want to be typecast as a four-scene specialist. Im here to play the lead and I know I have what it takes, she signs off.

Wish-list: Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met, Kalki Koechlin in Dev.D and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

Industry Verdict: In that small role, Richa Chadda achieved what many actresses havent in a decade-long career, says Piyush Mishra.

Screen India