Bollywood actress Richa Chadha will be seen playing the role of a politician in Subhash Kapoor’s ‘Madam Chief Minister’. Earlier this month, the ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ actress shared a poster ahead of the film’s trailer launch. The first poster featured Richa, who was seen holding a broom in her hand.
Many social media users called out the makers for allegedly stereotyping the Dalits in the poster as the text on it read, “Untouchable, Unstoppable.” The usage of the word ‘untouchable’ stirred a controversy as netizens believed the stereotypical representation of Dalits could be avoided.
Richa issued a statement on Friday (January 15) and clarified that she had no role in designing the promotional poster. She said that the makers released a new poster after realizing their mistake. The ‘Fukrey’ actress apologized for hurting the sentiments of the people and called it ‘a regrettable and a completely unintentional oversight’.
“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," Richa said in a statement.
"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,” Richa added.
'Madam Chief Minister' is slated to hit the silver screens on January 22, 2021.