Body-shaming and casting couch led Khichdi’s Chakki Parekh aka Richa Bhadra to quit TV

Khichdi’s Chakki aka Richa Bhadra has been away from the limelight and it’s a conscious decision made by the actress. While she revealed that she tried many a times to make a comeback; but constant body-shaming and casting couch is what Richa faced during the process. Richa is happily married and learning the ropes of working in the corporate sector with her husband. Speaking exclusively to TimesofIndia.com, Richa revealed what made her take a step back from television, getting married and a lot more. By: Sukarna Mondal

After Khichdi, Baa Bahu aur Baby and Mrs. Tendulkar, I did one episode of Gumraah. That didn’t really go well with my family. I belong to a Gujarati family and they are very chilled out. But when it comes to crossing a certain boundary like doing a romantic scene or exposing, my family is not comfortable. They told me not to take up roles like that.

I have never been a skinny model which television requires nowadays. I have always been a plump girl. During my growing up years, I was being offered roles where I had to expose or romance on-screen. I didn’t want to go against my family and or my will to take up such roles just for fame. As a child actor, I have always been protected by the Gujarati production house. I have always been very guarded by my family. So I didn’t want to cross the boundary. Hence, I avoided taking up any new projects.

Initially, I never faced casting couch. But after marriage, I was auditioning at a couple of places and I was asked to compromise. I came across a casting director who said, “Keep me happy and I will give you work.” He wanted to meet me at a hotel when I suggested meeting him at a coffee shop. That was the end to all my aspirations which I had in the industry. I didn’t want to ruin the image which I had built as a child actor.

As I wasn’t getting my kind of roles, I auditioned for a few reality shows. I was thin those days. But I was told that people have already seen me on screen hence I can’t participate. So the casting director told me that I can’t do any reality show with them.

I have seen celebrities talking about body-shaming and slut-shaming. And I have constantly been told, “Oh you are too chubby!” This is how I am, this is my body structure. Often I have been offered roles of a ‘fat girl’ as per the script’s demand. I don’t want that tag. I have been told to lose weight if I want to act. I don’t want to lose weight only to be a part of the industry.

When I was in my 20’s, my parents wanted me to get married or study. Studying further was not my cup of tea and I didn’t want to get married at such a young age. So, I started working with an educational firm as a counselor. It was very weird working with them as people knew me and they would come up to me and ask ‘What are you doing here?’ It was difficult to make them understand.

I met Vivek at my workplace and he was the founder of the organisation. We became friends and one fine day he came up to me and professed his love. It came as a shocker and took me a while to answer him. Then we started dating. He is five years elder to me and a very mature person. He’s an IITian. Vivek and I are very comfortable with each other. We dated for 4-5 months before tying the knot.

My father gave me two options: either leave him or marry him. He didn’t want me to fool around if marriage is not on my mind. However, it took us a year to convince his parents. He comes from a family where daughters-in-law are expected to behave and dress up in a certain way and I didn’t want to leave my comfort space. So, it took a while to convince them about my upbringing and accept me as the person I am.