Richa Chadha says she drank alcohol after not getting 'Heeramandi' dance sequence right in 40 takes

Richa Chadha Pic/Instagram

Richa Chadha, who is garnering praise for her role as 'Lajjo' in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's web series 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar', recently opened up on her dance sequence at the wedding of the Nawab (played by Adhyayan Suman) who rejected her. The scene shows a drunk Richa delivering a spectacular performance, however, it wasn't a cakewalk for the actress, who is a soon-to-be mother.

Richa, who is a teetotaller told Zoom in an interview how she was just not "getting it" despite 30-40 takes, which is when she decided to consume alcohol. She said, "On the first day, I wasn't getting it, to do the drunk dancing. So, after 30-4o takes, I thought let me have a quarter and see what happens. 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."

She added that it would've been better if she hadn't taken such measures because it affected her dancing ability.

"If you have grown up in that world, with poetry, music, and dance, it is going to be your second nature. So, I tried drinking on the first day of my solo song, but it didn't work for me. 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. 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 percent 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," added Richa.

Set against the backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s, 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar' promises to be an epic saga of love, power, revenge, and freedom. Through the stories of courtesans and their patrons, the series delves deep into the cultural reality of Heeramandi. The series was released on May 1 on Netflix.

(With inputs from Agencies)