After giving an array of different performances in Marathi movies, actress Chhaya Kadam recently grabbed attention for her performance in the recently released Laapataa Ladies. She played the character of a lady who owns a food stall at a railway station and gives shelter to Nitanshi Goel’s character Phool.
In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Kadam spoke about the importance of Laapataa Ladies in her career so far. “It is an important film because it’s by Aamir Khan Productions,” she said. “He is known to be a perfectionist because of his work. So, if he has chosen a story, then it has to be something different and it is. Plus, Kiran Rao has made a film after so long. Else, people are always in a hurry to direct projects. They believe that they should latch onto something before it gets out of hand. She could have made so many films before. It wouldn’t have been tough. But she took her time.”
Kadam said that there are some films meant only for entertainment while there are others that only provide a social message, but Laapataa Ladies falls in between. “This film found a golden middle ground. Also, I like working with new actors. The three of them (Goel, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Shrivastav) are starring in their first film. They also inspire us to work hard. Because of all these reasons, this is an important film for me. It came at the right moment, and I accepted it. But today when I look at people’s reaction, I feel lucky to have been a part of this movie.”
Speaking more about the message of the film, she said, “The movie is so special for women. It speaks about their education and rights. For example, Phool is happy by being a wife and having that ghoonghat. So that needs to change. But I feel that every woman should get to do what makes her feels good. Like, Jaya (Pratibha) wanted to study further. Even my character got such dialogues to mouth. Like, ‘Maine bhi haq jama diya.’ And I am also like that when it comes to dealing with an abusive husband. So, this film is so important even for single women.”
Kadam shared an interesting story about her casting in Laapataa Ladies as she was surprised to have been approached for this role. “There is a person very close to me called Romil Modi,” she said. “He has a different approach towards casting. To get the right person for a role, he goes to the root and local level and finds people. I really appreciate his different approach. He gave me 4-5 lines of dialogues to recite. I realized these dialogues have a UP flavour and I am Marathi. I felt instead of doing a lot of work on me, they will find such good actresses from there (UP). That will be so much easier for them.”
But that wasn’t the case like. “Romil addresses me as ‘Aai’ and I love listening to that word from him. He insisted that I send him the audition once. I asked him to show how he wants. When I copied him and sent, he instantly said, ‘Yehi chahiye!’. Then I got a call from the production house saying that Kiran Rao wants to meet me. She is a very big fan of Fandry (Kadam’s Marathi movie). We chit chatted and did 1-2 scenes there itself. That’s how I was finalized. Kiran gives you so much freedom. She lets us speak the way we want.”
Kadam has almost all the scenes with Nitanshi Goel. She was amazed by her working style. “She was just 14 years old when we were shooting! Now she is 16. She works very sincerely. She understood all these emotions at such a young age and prepared herself by ignoring all the problems going on the sets and gave justice to her character. We find it difficult to do even now. She had a sense for everything, including the lights. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. These kids keep reminding us that we need to constantly keep an eye on our work.”
Kadam said that the shoot of the film started from her. But they faced an unusual hurdle. “Unfortunately, the day before our DoP tested corona positive,” she said. “And we had taken permission to shoot at the railway station and also made other preparations. So, we started shoot the same day. He used to instruct through Zoom. We should appreciate Kiran here as this didn’t affect her.”
Kadam has played characters that are higher than her actual age. For example, she played wife to Amitabh Bachchan in Nagraj Manjule’s Jhund. When this was pointed out to her, she said, “Honestly, I have never thought about this. I just wish to perform. On the contrary, I find it more challenging. As in, if I am playing four characters of advanced age (in 4 different projects), I think how I would make them appear different. I take this into account. I also prefer giving different looks to each.”
Chhaya Kadam will next be seen in Kunal Kemmu’s comic caper Madgaon Express, which releases on March 22. The film also stars Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu, Avinash Tiwary and Nora Fatehi.
More Pages: Laapataa Ladies Box Office Collection , Laapataa Ladies Movie Review
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