'Masaan' actor Richa Chadda goes to Varanasi

Riding high on the Masaan wave, Richa Chadda is currently occupied by two AKs (Arvind Kejriwal and Aamir Khan), both of whom have met her post the film and lauded her histrionics.

Filmed in Varanasi, in a non air-brushed or bubble-wrapped way, Masaan is as much about small town sensibilities as about the larger landscape of love and longing. Its essence is its constant conflict between the old and the new, between life and death, between the inside and the outside.

Chadda speaks to Vogue about filming in the historical city.

What did you make of Varanasi chic? Any fashion trend you would emulate?

I would love to try a multi-coloured turban with a long, straight skirt and a bindi perhaps.

Varanasi is almost a lead character in the movie. How much of it did you feel one with?

With all of it. It's a strange city where you can feel like a dweller and an alien at the same time. It's ancient, modern, progressive and sometimes regressive, all at once.

How did team Masaan set about avoiding the cliches of filming Varanasi as 'exotic India'?

We didn't want an outsider's view of the city. An outsider's view comes with touristy visuals, saturated colours, occidental prejudice and the peddling of poverty. We wanted to tell a story about Benarasis, more than Benaras, so it had to be an insider's view.

Richa Chadda's list of four must-dos in Varanasi

1. To start with, take a late-night boat ride to see all of the 87 ghats.

2. Roam around the narrow lanes of Bangali Tola for some great smells, textures and tastes because it's a city with the second most lanes in the world after Venice.

3. For some delicious, healthy pizzas, apple pies and soy curd, visit Pizzeria Ashok Vatika at Assi Ghat. It's an innovative and enterprising place where they have developed a great cuisine—with recipes appropriated from Italian travellers. 

4. Stay at the Kautilya society, which is a very inspiring place for scholars, situated in a 300 year-old four-storied old kothi. You are likely to run into a Korean girl learning the tabla or a French guy learning Sanskrit.