Northville,
USA resident, Richa Gangopadhyay accomplished a lot in a short span of
less than two years since she was crowned Miss India USA in New Jersey
in Dec 2007. She recently debuted as the lead actress in her first
Telugu film, ‘Leader’ which has hit the screens on Feb 19, 2010.
The
vibrant, attractive and determined Richa decided upon near-fulfillment
of her Miss India USA title in the year 2008, that she was going to move
to India to explore the Indian film and fashion industry. Friends and
family encouraged her and in Sep 2008, Richa took the big leap of faith
of relocating to Mumbai to pursue the renowned acting school, ‘Actor
Prepares’ of Bollywood veteran, Anupam Kher. She graduated with a
diploma in acting from Actor Prepares and got her professional portfolio
done by one of India’s top fashion photographers. From the day her
portfolio was released in March 2009, Richa has been swamped with offers
of fashion ads for billboards of national brand campaigns and TV
commercials. She hopped three cities over a course of ten days doing
fashion ad shoots and on day ten….March 20, 2008 which also happened to
be her birthday, she successfully landed the coveted female lead role in
the upcoming Tollywood film, called ‘Leader’ under the direction of
Sekhar Kammula who nationally is known as a critically acclaimed
director.
While Richa’s ‘Dabur Vatika Almond Hair Oil’ TV
commercial with Bollywood actress Preity Zinta was airing on Sony TV
channels all over India, and her billboards for Peter England People,
Malabar Gold and Kalaniketan adorned large posh malls and stores in
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and other cities, Richa embarked on her
first movie venture in April 2009. Leader has been produced under the
well-known AVM Productions which has introduced Debutant hero Rana as
the ‘Leader’ with Richa as Co-star. Rana is the grandson of a movie
moghul, Rama Naidu, who earned a prestigious place in the Guinness Book
of World Records for producing the highest number of films spanning 3
decades in 9 languages. Richa portrays Rana’s lady love in the movie.
The
audio launch on November 22nd was a huge success attended by many
celebrities and gave the public the first look at this Sekhar Kammula
heroine. Richa impressed the media who calling her ‘ravishing’ and
‘cynosure of all eyes’ at the audio release event.
“It has been a
wonderful learning experience for me. My director, assistant director,
the crew and my costar Rana have made me feel so special in these 7-9
months. And lo behold… I learned a lot of acting….real fast. My
character is a young corporate Indian woman who is intelligent, smart
and confident, who's tough on the outside, but soft on the inside”. She
adds, “I had to learn Telugu, in order to lipsync and give the most
appropriate expressions, but Co-Director, Praveena, was like a shadow
guiding me. I can actually speak pretty manageable Telugu. I really like
Hyderabad and have grown attached to its warm people.” -- Richa
Gangopadhyay-Actress, Model, Multi-Talented Artist
“Richa…Your
resume is very impressive as you have participated and excelled in a
wide plethora of disciplines. Apart from accolades in Beauty pageants
you have done well in extra curricular activities. Performing in various
stage shows hones one’s confidence level and readies them to face the
camera. Your portfolio pictures do full justice to the immense talent
that you possess. And once again…congratulations on having won the Miss
India USA title.” -- Ashutosh Gowariker, Award-winning Bollywood
Director: Jodha-Akbar, Lagaan, What’s Your Rashi?