Richa Meena is an Indian actress and director. In 2021, she appeared in the Oscar-nominated Gujarati film Chhello Show.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Richa Meena was born on Sunday, 16 February 1992 (age 30 years; as of 2022) in Jaipur. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. Fascinated by the arts since childhood, Richa used to participate in various school and community dance competitions. Richa, while she was studying in 11th grade, joined a theatre workshop. According to Richa, the theatre workshophelped her become an actor and have the confidence to perform on stage. [1]The Free Press Journal In an interview, Richa talked about her passion for acting and said,
Since childhood, I knew that this the field I want to make a career out of. It is like you are having fun and everyone around you is celebrating that. It gave me a sense of freedom because I found myself. My survival mantra here was that whatever work comes your way say yes to it. When I say work I don’t mean all the acting projects but to nurture your main dream you have to keep extracting energies from other sources. [2]MansWorldIndia
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Richa Meena belongs to a Hindu family.
Parents & Siblings
Husband & Children
As of 2022, Richa Meena is unmarried.
Career
Film
In 2017, Richa made her Bollywood debut with the film The Running Shaadi in which she played the role of Neha Sinha. In the same year, she appeared in the Hindi film Daddy opposite Arjun Rampal in which she played the role of Geeta Gawli.
Subsequently, in 2019, she played the role of Misri in the Hindi film Kasaai. The same year, she made a cameo appearance in the Hindi film Mardaani 2 opposite Rani Mukerji. In the film Mardaani 2, she played the role of Sunanda. In an interview, Richa talked about her appearance in the film and said,
I have grown up watching her. I lived in the Yash Raj lane for two years and always thought I would someday enter this building. I was so happy that I cannot explain it. It was a feeling that motivated me to dream more. Sharing screen space with a seasoned actress was nothing but a great learning experience for me.” [3]MansWorldIndia
In 2018, she appeared in the Hindi film Teen Muhurat in which she played the role of Neha.
In 2021, she appeared in an Oscar-nominated Gujarati film titled ‘Chello Show ‘(The Last Film Show) in which she played the lead role of Ba (Samay’s mother). In a media interview, Richa Meena talked about the role she played in the Gujarati film and said,
When I met the team for the first time, they were looking for a person who would play the character of Baa. Looking at how the team is and the kind of creative people they are I wanted to get associated with it. After 4-5 auditions, I landed the role. Every single day would end in satisfaction because of the kind of work we were putting in. I think for an actor, a job is a job, there are no barriers. I am from a different part of a country and Gujarati was not a language I was fluent in. But that didn’t stop me and I worked on my language, pronunciation, and dialect. My team members used to sit with me for hours helping me through it.” [4]MansWorldIndia
Short Films
In 2019, Richa Meena appeared in the Hindi short film ‘Stronger’ in which she played the role of Som. In the same year, she appeared in the short film OPIUM. In 2020, she appeared in the short film Ghumantu-The Wanderer.
Commercials
Richa Meena has appeared in various commercials like Saffola Gold, State Bank of India, Uttarakhand Tourism, and Hindustan Times. [5]YouTube
Controversy
In September 2022, after Richa Meena’s Gujarati film Chhello Show (The Last Film Show) was nominated for the 2023 Oscars, it was alleged that the film was a copy of the iconic Italian film Cinema Paradiso (1988). The movie, according to FWICE, was originally made by the French business Orange Studios, which has its headquarters in France. Additionally, according to the FWICE, the movie was a replica of the 1988 Oscar-winning Italian film Cinema Paradiso. According to the 2023 Oscar’s eligibility criteria, the film should be chosen from the list of films released in 2022; however, Chhello Show which was released in 2021 was not eligible for selection this year. Later, in a media interview, the president of FWICE, B N Tiwari, talked about the Gujarati film and said,
This year’s nomination of the film ‘Chhello Show’ as India’s Official Entry to the 95th Oscar Award is not as per the usual norms and has therefore created a lot of doubts and issues we thought of raising. We strongly feel that the selection process was not thoroughly followed. We have nothing personal against the producers and makers of the film which has been nominated to the Oscars, but at the same time, the real successors of this award cannot be left in a dilemma as it is very wrong and completely unjustified for us.” [6]India Today
Facts/Trivia
- In 2011, Richa Meena appeared in a National Geographic documentary titled ‘Secrets of The Taj Mahal’ in which she portrayed the role of Mumtaz Mahal.
- Along with acting in films, Richa Meena has co-directed a short film titled ‘Ghumantu-The Wanderer.’
- In an interview, Richa Meena said that she wanted to work with Indian actor Irrfan Khan. She quoted,
I have always wanted to work with Irrfan Khan but as luck would have it he is no longer with us. [7]Bollyy
- According to Richa Meena, before the audition for the film Chhello Show, she was unfamiliar with the director Pan Nalin. Later, she watched one of his films, The Angry Indian Goddess, to analyse his work. In an interview she talked about this and said,
There were four rounds of auditions and that’s how I was chosen to play this role. I didn’t know the director Pan Nalin. I had watched one of his films, Angry Indian Goddesses and that’s how I figured out about his work and I loved that. There are some children in the film who are not actors, so we did a few workshops. We shot in Gujarat for three months and there was complete freedom to work. [8]The Free Press Journal
- In September 2022, after Chello Show was nominated by the FFI jury for the 2023 Oscars, the Indian food processing company, Amul, congratulated Pan Nalin’s Gujarati film Chhello Show by releasing a cartoon.
References
↑1, ↑8 | The Free Press Journal |
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↑2, ↑3, ↑4 | MansWorldIndia |
↑5 | YouTube |
↑6 | India Today |
↑7 | Bollyy |