Richa Chadha finds muse in Meena Kumari for her role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Heeramandi'

Actress Richa Chadha, who will appear in the eagerly awaited show Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, recently shared the source of her inspiration for her role.


The web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, which many are eagerly waiting for, will be out in a few weeks. It's notable as it marks filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut on OTT platforms. The show stars a group of six actresses, with Richa Chadha among them. Richa recently shared that she found inspiration for her character in the series from the renowned actress Meena Kumari.

Richa Chadha talked about how she is learning from Meena Kumari's role in Pakeezah for her character in Heeramandi.

Richa Chadha will play the character of Lajjo, a charming courtesan, in the upcoming series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. In a recent comment, Richa shared that to get ready for her role, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali recommended studying Meena Kumari's performance as Shahibjaan in the famous film Pakeezah.

Talking about her time, Richa said in an interview with Pinkvilla, "Carefully observing, learning from, and taking lessons from Meena Kumari ji's character in Pakeezah was a truly enriching and deeply transforming experience for me ahead of shooting for Heeramandi.”

When discussing how she got ready, Richa commented, "In the movie Paakezah, Meena Kumari’s character has a certain tragic depth and complexity that resonated with Lajjo, the character that I play in the show. I worked on the voice and diction while studying Meena Ji’s work, to the point of imitation sometimes.”

Sharing her feelings about the same, she said, “I felt like I was walking in the footsteps of a cinematic legend, and it was an honor to pay tribute to Meena Kumari ji through my portrayal of Lajjo."

The production team also confirmed that the actress has drawn inspiration from Meena Kumari's iconic performance, which added layers of authenticity to Lajjo's character.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar features Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin Segal, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman. The series, which delves into the lives of courtesans, will hit Netflix screens on May 1st, 2024.