‘Masaan’ actress Richa Chadda was recently awarded the prestigious Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award 2020 for her contribution to Indian cinema.
She will next play the titular role in the biopic of the controversial, South adult film star – ‘Shakeela’, who rose to prominence in the ‘90s.
Born in a conservative Muslim family, Shakeela began her career at 16. She had appeared in about 250 films, most of them softcore, which made her a major sex symbol in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The film plans on providing an honest insight into her life.
‘Shakeela’ is being helmed by director Indrajit Lankesh. Talking about how the movie will attempt to underline the sexist nature of the film industry, he commented to Midday – “The Malayalam film circuit was dominated by male actors when Shakeela entered the scene. She rose in popularity as her films would run for 100 days in every centre in south India. “
“The superstars started feeling threatened. Eventually, due to backlash, her films were censored and she had to return her advances to many producers; she had to go back to her one-room apartment. Through the film, we’ll show what a woman goes through in a male-dominated industry.”
The Midday report further confirms that ‘Shakeela’ will be having a Christmas release in theatres on December 25. The movie also stars Pankaj Tripathi.