Richa Chadha reveals what she was asked to do to get ‘ready for Bollywood’

Local Press Co 5-point Snippet

1. Richa Chadha, who rose to fame after movies like Gangs of Wasseypur and Massan, was the key speaker at a recent event called TedX Talks. At the event, she spoke explicitly about one of Bollywood’s best kept hidden secrets – eating disorders.

2. Chadha told the crowd how her self-esteem lowered when she was making her way into showbiz. She said, “Till I lived in Delhi, with my parents, I always felt beautiful and intelligent. It was only when I became an actor that I felt my confidence evaporate. Self-doubt exists in everyone’s minds. But I do feel actors have it a lot worse. We deal with rejection on many levels on a daily basis. While we deal with civilian (yes, that’s what I call people that don’t work in showbiz) issues, we also have to listen to, in my cheeky humble opinion, people that aren’t so blessed themselves tell you that you are very unsuitable looking.”

3. Further, the ‘Sarbjit’ actress also revealed the things she was told to do in order to be deemed suitable in the industry. She said “I was told I should gain weight, then lose weight, fix my nose and inflate my lips, get a b**b job, lose the puppy fat, grow my hair out, or cut it, get highlights, or fake eyelash extensions, squat for a bigger b**ty, get fake gel nails, run in heels, wear spanx, pout while talking, focus on dilating the pupils, and listen attentively. I crumbled under the pressure like a wrecking ball had hit me.”

4. The 29-year-old then courageously opened up about her struggle with an eating order, stating, “Bulimia was the ‘Big B’ that I had to deal with. Anyone know what that is? It’s when you consistently hate what you look like, and compulsively induce vomiting, throw up all the food you eat, accompanied often by binge eating, general anxiety and sadness and believing basically that you are unworthy.”

5. The Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! debutante, who is known to speak her mind without mincing words, is now being praised for bravely voicing her struggles.