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Richa Chadha has never really shied away from taking a stand for the parts of the industry needing reform, or the parts of herself that have struggled because of it. From the industry's poor pay structure, fighting stereotypes to calling for more women in the workforce, Chadha has made it clear that there is a life outside of acting she wants to nurture just as much.
Or, as she tells The Hollywood Reporter India in an exclusive interview, "I just have a different kind of interest. Not all actors are interested only in their own careers."
Two years since she last appeared on screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi, Chadha has claimed a new role — now as a mother, a debut writer, and with her new travel series Musafiri, a solid example of the entirely different reality that exists at the intersection of the two.
The actor shares how motherhood has made her more aware of the brevity of time, reflects on how Musafiri has added a new dimension to her work as an actor and where she feels the industry is headed after 18 years of being in it.
"I just have a different kind of interest. Not all actors are interested only in their own careers," she said when asked what pushed her to take the directorial reins with Musafiri.
"Some like pottery, some like photography, and I like history. Whether or not characters are complex, that won't change my work as an actor. It remains the same, and I'm just adding a new dimension."
For Chadha, her travel series was not simply about documenting her love for history, culture and the city of Mumbai, in which she has spent some of her formative years of her life and career, but also bridging a fiercely familiar gap between women and their narrow access to the spaces around them.
"When I started working on this (Musafiri), there were no women trying to reclaim public spaces. We should be able to move around freely and see our own city, at night and during the day."
In the series, Chadha makes a beautiful connection between motherhood and rebirth. There has been a bit of a "perspective shift", she says, since she became a mother in 2024.
"You start documenting things you think are fast disappearing, like the mangroves of Mumbai or the quaint little bungalows in Bandra. You also start wondering things like whether your daughter will be able to read books when she grows up."
This year, the actor will complete 18 years since she made her debut in 2006 with Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Asked where she feels the industry is headed and where she, now as a writer too, hopes it goes, Chadha said, "I think it needs a better conversation around crises and lingering issues," describing the recent state of Bollywood as one that has helped people recover from the losses of the COVID-19 years and the films that couldn't be brought to life then.
"I think the industry needs some (re)structuring, so that it's not such a big game of chance."