Years ago, Richa Pallod charmed Telugu and Tamil audiences with a bunch of feel-good characters in films such as Nuvve Kavali , Shahjahan and Alli Arjuna before she embraced marriage and motherhood. And now, nine years after we last saw her on the big screen in Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum , she is back in Sathya Prabhas Pinisetty’s Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka , essaying a role of substance.
And before anyone calls it a comeback, Richa, mother of a six-month-old son, hastens to say she will still continue to be selective about the work she takes up. “I’ve never been competitive or courted opportunities. I’ve only taken up work that came to me, especially if it impressed me,” says the Mumbai-based actress.
It helped, she says, that she never had to work for a living. Her character in Yagavarayinum … tempted her to say hello to Kollywood again. “It is a small but vital role. More importantly, I had conviction in it and that is very important for me. I hate stereotypical roles.”
Ask Richa whether she regrets not capitalising on her initial success and she says she’s happy with the way her life turned out. “I was not in Chennai 24x7 and did not want to take up roles that did nothing for me. Then, marriage happened and I wanted to enjoy that phase of life,” she says.
Richa rues that not many Indian filmmakers create out-of-the-box characters for women. “I personally don’t like family dramas, but don’t mind playing a mother or a homemaker, provided that character has an identity. Detailing and backstories are so important; only they draw you into the life of a character,” she says, giving the example of Piku . “It is a commercial movie, but so real. And, it touched a chord with audiences.”
Currently, Richa is bonding with her baby and also reading two scripts in Tamil — one is a children’s film and another a commercial venture. This time around, she hopes to get roles that help her shake off the ‘cute girl’ tag she has been carrying all these years.
