Best known for her work in the Fukrey series, Bollywood actor Richa Chadha is currently awaiting for her the release of her next film Madam Chief Minister. The film has been directed by Subhash Kapoor and the official poster of the film has been released recently.
With the poster, the actor’s look in the film has been unveiled. But, reportedly this didn’t go well with the netizens as the poster downplayed the Dalit community and showed them in poor light. The poster drew flak as Richa is seen carrying a broom which allegedly stereotypes the Dalits, PinkVilla reported.
After facing serious criticisms, the actor has publicly apologised to the community and has issued a statement over the same which reads as:
“This film was learning experience for me, for us all. The promotions were no different. The first poster that was released faced severe criticism, rightly so. What to me (and my privileged eyes) was a mere prop used by my character in a scene , came across as a stereotypical portrayal of Dalits for many of our people.
As an actor, I receive the communication for posting, complete with the copy, handles and hashtags. Needless to say, I have no role in the designing of promotional materials. By saying this, I am not throwing the makers under the bus. They realised this inadvertent error and took this criticism in their stride. They responded immediately by retracting the objectionable poster and by releasing a new poster the very next day. It was a regrettable and a completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation. We are sorry. Our heart is in the right place. Hopefully you will see that for yourself when you watch the film.
We have made this film for love, as though we were on a mission to tell this story. Tara, one feisty oddball of a woman, fights patriarchy, caste oppression, brutal violence along with the usual betrayals of politics, to rise to the top and affect change. And she does so with incredible dignity and courage. I could relate to her righteous rage. She spoke to me. As the film nears release, I am becoming aware that I have to say goodbye to Tara. I am also aware that she will never entirely leave my side.”
The film also features Manav Kaul, Akshay Oberoi, and Saurabh Shukla in the lead roles. The official trailer was released a few days back which received rave reviews.
