Adulation certainly has upped her confidence. The afterglow of her debut film Leader’s success is evident on Richa Gangopadhyay’s pretty face even as she juggles a busy schedule these days —walking the ramp or teeing for a cause with cricketer Kapil Dev, tweeting on the Women’s Bill, or popping in and out of the idiot box for various shows, even as her American accent draws considerable interest from those around her.
As if reading our minds, this NRI, who was Miss India USA 2007, rolls her expressive eyes and breaks into Telugu “konchem konchem nerchukuntunanu (I’m learning the language a little everyday)”. The good thing, she tells us, about tracing her roots to Bengal is that she’s “artistically inclined naturally”. The lady who has majored in dietics and nutrition from Michigan University and has also done a course in public health, reels off her accomplishments —“I am multi-faceted. I sing; I play the violin; I am good in more than five dance forms ranging from Odissi, Kathak and folk dance to western forms like Salsa and Hip-hop; I’ve walked the ramp; done commercials; hosted a TV show when I was in class X and also was recognised as ‘exemplary youth leader’ for a cancer awareness programme in the US.” “The good thing about a US degree is that it made me take community service seriously,” says Richa who recently walked the ramp for a breast cancer awareness initiative and is now actively associated with a cancer-awareness campaign.
“I’m passionate about healthcare and if I hadn’t been an actor, I would have been a healthcare professional,” avers Richa who changed tracks and moved to showbiz following her first major beauty pageant win and subsequent pageants where she bagged Miss Photogenic and Miss Beautiful Eyes titles. Taking her new calling seriously, she enrolled in Anupam Kher’s acting school and fondly remembers him telling her “you have the potential, you will make it big someday”.
Prophetic it was, given that her debut outing has propelled her into a different league altogether. “I’ve got offers from big banners in Bollywood. Plus, I’ve shortlisted two films in Tollywood,” she says with relish, enjoying every bit of the attention she’s getting. She cautiously adds, “There’s this feeling that Tollywood is losing its new finds to Bollywood, but I think cinema crosses language boundaries. I am open to doing films in all languages if I get the right script.”
How game is she then for the kind of glam roles that T-town and B-town usually offer? “I do not want to get stuck to a set image and though I am okay with wearing modern outfits, I am not open to skin show. Sekhar Kammula sir has given me a good break here, I love the way he portrays women in his films as strong-minded individuals, yet sensitive. I loved playing Archana, she’s the one who challenges and changes the hero’s mind.”
Talking of leading men, how was it working with RaNa Daggubati? “He’s pretty much an intense person like in the film, but there’s a fun side to him. With him I really got to explore the city. Hyderabad is not new to me, I’ve always made annual visits to my grandparents’ place in Ameerpet, but I never knew there was so much to the city. My most memorable evening with RaNa was on the eve of Ramadan — the Charminar and the streets leading to it were lit up. It was mesmerising. He treated me to faluda and Pakistani chicken and I had bought lac bangles too,” she signs off, her eyes shining bright!
- Indian Journalist.
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