Madam Chief Minister Poster Controversy
Bollywood actress Richa Chadha is all set to headline another film titled Madam Chief Minister. The makers have been releasing posters of the film and had also unveiled the trailer a few days ago. While fans were all praise for the actress, many were irked with the first poster released by the makers. In the poster, Richa was seen holding a broom which many claimed indicates the stereotyping of the Dalit community. While Richa had earlier defended the poster, she has now apologised saying the team's intention was not to hurt anyone's sentiments.
In a statement, Richa Chadha said, "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."
She added, "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."
Further talking about her character, Richa said, "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."
Watch Madam Chief Minister trailer here-
Madam Chief Minister is all set to have a theatrical release on January 22. Directed by Subhash Kapoor of Jolly LLB fame, it also stars Manav Kaul, Saurabh Shukla, Akshay Oberoi and Shubhrajyoti and is produced by T-Series Films and Kangra Talkies. This would be Chadha's second theatrical release amid the coronavirus pandemic, after Shakeela which hit cinema halls last month.
