Richa Chadha, Ronit Roy
If one brings experience to the table, the other makes sure not a single shot goes monotonous. Together they aim to present a thriller of sorts with supernatural element with a memorable climax. They are Richa Chadha and Ronit Bose Roy who are coming together for their web show Candy. As intriguing as the name is the show's premise.
Set in a hilly station of North India, Candy is an amalgamation of suspense, fear, hope, politics, ambition and murder mystery. While Richa plays a cop investigating the deaths of kids in the area, Ronit, will be seen playing a teacher who has moved to the place to cope up with a personal tragedy. The actors were at once intrigued to do the show.
"I have neither done a thriller nor took up the role of a cop yet, so it was new for me. Hence, I took up Candy," Richa told us in an exclusive interview. Whereas for Ronit it was his character Jayant Parekh that drew him to the project. He called shooting for the show an experience to cherish.
"Jayant is a character which is layered at many levels emotionally and mentally," he said adding, "We worked a lot on the script, redefined it and got a number of talented actors on it. A whole lot of good actors. Shooting it in the hills in very deserted locations was an amazing experience. Being there and spending time with my co-stars and locals. An experience to cherish."
When asked about her co-star Ronit, all praise for him, Richa called the actor 'fantastic'. "He's been working for such a long time and still he wants to improvise, do new things every day. In every scene, he wants to add something unique. That is very innovative of him."
So does Ronit do this often?
"Often? I do it all the time," Ronit quipped before adding, "There are a lot of things running through my mind when I take up a role. So many things keep happening therefore I keep rejecting and acquiring and improvise my part. This is how I navigate all my characters."
Ronit indeed has been a part of some very different projects across mediums. He's played an ideal family man in daily soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kasuatii Zindagii Kay, in addition to a detestable father in the 2010 film Udaan and a poignant cop in his previous web show Hostages.
"The very fact that I have done diverse roles means that I signed on to them is because I knew I'll enjoy myself doing them. So I can safely say there aren't any parts that I didn't like doing or regret doing. If I think I won't have fun doing a character, I won't do it. I normally reject 80-80% of projects that come to me. My base intent is to enjoy doing what I'm doing," Ronit told us.
However, as an actor, the medium he's working for doesn't change his process of presenting a character. Comparing the technical differences between the mediums he shared some insightful statistics.
"When I used to do television I used to clock 2 and half hours a week, half an hour a day per show. So per show, you're clocking two and half hours a week. Whereas for motion pictures you're shooting for 2 hrs 20 mins film for 40-60 days or sometimes 100 days. So there's a difference right there," he said.
"I salute people making television because it is not easy at all. Of course, cinema has its challenges and so does OTT. For instance, the director shot candy in both television and film formats. When you see certain shots in the show you know they are shot for cinema.
"The process is shooting may be different but for an actor, it's the same for all the mediums. He plays a character, he would play the same for all the mediums, of course the treatment is different," he added.
Richa too never shies away from taking up new things. She recently shot for a podcast with her fiance Ali Fazal. "Virus 2062 was very exciting. It was great fun to work with Ali for a radio play. Trying to act with your voice only was wonderful. It was a great collaboration and I had a blast doing it," she said.
Watch the trailer of the show here:
