Richa Chadha on playing Lajjo in Heeramandi: It was an honour to pay tribute to Meena Kumari

Richa Chadha revealed recently that she took inspiration from Meena Kumari’s performance in the classic film Pakeezah (1972) to prepare for her role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut Heeramandi – The Diamond Bazaar. Besides Richa, the series also stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Sehgal, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman.

Richa essays the role of Lajjo, a courtesan in the series. Upon Bhansali's suggestion, she studied Meena Kumari’s character, Sahibjaan from the 1972 classic film and even drew parallels between the two characters. She said, "Carefully observing and taking lessons from Meena Kumari’s character in Pakeezah was a truly enriching and deeply transforming experience for me ahead of shooting for Heeramandi. In the film, Meena Kumari’s character has a certain tragic depth and complexity that resonated with Lajjo, the character that I play in the show.”

She added, “I worked on the voice and diction, while studying Meena Kumari’s work, to the point of imitation sometimes. I felt like I was walking in the footsteps of a cinematic legend, and it was an honour to pay tribute to her through my portrayal of Lajjo."

Heeramandi is set in pre-independent India against the backdrop of the freedom movement and is an epic saga of love, power, betrayal, struggle and, ultimately, freedom. It will be released on Netflix on May 1.