Richa Chadha: Fukrey was my first commercial outing after GOW, very necessary for my career at that time | Exclusive

Fukrey 3 is premiering on television on May 19

Fukrey has been one of the most successful comedy franchises in Hindi cinema. The first film, directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, released in 2013 and became a sleeper hit. Ever since, fans have always looked forward to the subsequent instalments, which carried forward the stories of the characters - Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), Lali (Manjot Singh), Choocha (Varun Sharma), Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadha) and Zafar (Ali Fazal).

Fukrey 3 released in September 2023. Ahead of its television premiere, cast members Richa Chadha and Pulkit Samrat spoke to mid-day.com about the significance of the franchise in their careers and if there will be a Fukrey 4.

What is the significance of this franchise in your lives as an actor?

Pulkit: Whoa. I feel every kind of recognition, every kind of respect, every kind of way forward, Fukrey is what gave us the torch to do that. It gave us the opportunity. If you look at the names that have come out of Fukrey - Varun Sharma, Richa Chadha, Pankaj Tripathi, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal - I am probably the weakest one out of the entire lot. So the names that have come out of Fukrey, being newcomers and trying to learn their craft, but very honest and hardworking individuals and artists, I think all of us collectively have got a lot from Fukrey.

Richa: I feel like this was my first very commercial outing after Gangs (of Wasseypur) and it was very necessary for me and my career at that time. I've really gained a lot of friends and fandom and a lot of popularity, especially in North India, with this character. And it's a very iconic, unique character. It's quite different from who I am. I enjoy playing it very much…

For a lot of people, you are who Bholi Punjaban is.

Richa: Correct. So, that love is always there. I find it interesting because kids love it and families like this character. And everybody's watched it at least once, so it's kind of iconic. I, of course, enjoy playing this character tremendously and it came at a good time for me in my career also.

Will there be a 4th time that you get to reprise your roles?

Richa and Pulkit: We would love that for sure!

How does it feel to be able to come back to a familiar franchise? Is it a safe space to fall back on?

Richa: Certainly. The crew and the cast, there's a lot of familiarity between us. We are friends also outside of this workspace. So, it's good. Especially to create comedy, which is such a lively genre. Even though our director is quite strict about how he wants something said, I think that knowing each other for a long time definitely helps.

Pulkit: Getting back to Fukrey is always like getting back to your family. It gets you rooted again. It's the same world that helped me become a better actor. So, I take it as an opportunity to grow further from here.

Do you watch TV?

Pulkit: I do. I used to watch Anupamaa. It will sound very weird, but my television watching is basically when my sister is sitting and she's doing her - she does a lot of crochet knitting. So while she's crocheting, she keeps watching either Anupamaa, or CID reruns. I would be right next to her and going through whatever's happening on Anupamaa. On one of her birthdays, we got a cake also that had Anupamaa written on it. When I met Rupali ji (Ganguly, lead character of Anupamaa) last time, I took a picture with her and told her that my sister and I, we're big fans of yours.

Richa: I was traveling recently, to Chennai, and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was coming on TV. So, whenever there's an older film that reminds me of my school or college time, I love watching it.

Tune in to &pictures and experience the magic of 'Fukrey 3' with your loved ones this Sunday, 19th May at 12:00 noon.