Richa Chadha admits Sanjay Leela Bhansali is ‘tough to work with’, recalls giving 99 takes for Heeramandi

Richa Chadha explained why Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a 'tough taskmaster'. She also spoke about the time when she gave 99 takes for Heeramandi.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | May 11, 2024 04:22 PM IST

2 min read

Richa Chadha- Sanjay Leela Bhansali- Heeramandi

Richa Chadha with Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the sets of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. (Photo: Richa Chadha/ Instagram)

Richa Chadha is garnering a lot of praise for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. However, the actor recently revealed that she did a take for 99 times for the Netflix show and called the filmmaker a “tough taskmaster.”

“I did a take for 99 times for Mr Bhansali,” Richa told Zoom in an interview. She then explained why she ended up giving so many takes for a scene. She said that SLB was probably was trying to say something and she wasn’t understanding it. She also said that she felt something was missing. She insisted that it was Bhansali’s right to ask for more takes. “It is his right to,” she said.

Richa then explained why people call SLB a “tough taskmaster”. She said, “About this tough taskmaster thing, yes, he is tough to work with because he has very high standards.” She said the filmmaker is very particular about the perfect frame, lighting on set, the actors’ costume, jewellery, flowers, candle, extras, among other things, so “the first person he has those standards from are himself”. She added, “He is very perceptive and I’d probably be the same if I had Rs 300 crore riding on one project.”

Richa then reminisced the time she first worked with Bhansali on Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013). She shared, “I was quite dumb at that time, very naive. It was my third or fourth film. To work with a legend like that was kind of overwhelming so I used to be very quiet. This time I enjoyed the process a lot more.”

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is streaming on Netflix. While it opened to mixed reviews by critics, the show has become the most viewed Indian series globally, as per the streamer. Along with Richa, the show also stars Manisha Koirala, Sharmin Segal, Sonakshi Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Fardeen Khan among others.

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