Bollywood actress Richa Chadha has hit out at death threats and threats of bodily harm over her new film ‘Madam Chief Minister’ with a fierce ‘Hum nahi darte [I am not scared]’ retort. In the upcoming movie she plays Tara, a Dalit woman who smashes patriarchy and fights discrimination to rise up the ranks and become a powerful political leader.
Last week, the poster of the film, in which her character is seen holding a broom, sparked outrage as it came across as a stereotypical representation of a woman from a lower caste. The makers apologised and released a new poster after those allegations.
But Chadha is in no mood to let anyone bully her, especially after a right wing politician Nawab Satpal Tanwar threatened to chop off her tongue and even put a bounty on it. According to her publicist, the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Bhim Sena has been uploading videos on his social media to instigate violence against the actress. Tanwar’s actions have been officially condemned by The Bhim Army, a Dalit party in India.
Actress Swara Bhasker came out in support of Chadha.
“This is absolutely shameful & to be condemned in no uncertain terms. You can have ideological issues & problems with a film but this is criminal intimidation & incitement to violence. Ambedkarites, Dalit feminists & just sane people- stand up & call this out! @RichaChadha #NotOk”,” tweeted Bhasker.
