Actress Richa Chadha, who is known for expressing strong opinions on politics, says that as an actor she chooses films that interest her, and not necessarily projects that are in sync with her political ideology.

"My politics does not reflect in the choices of films I do, not always. A film is a fictional work. In future, what if I play a Naxalite? I may not agree with the violence that that ideology holds but that does not mean I will say 'no' to the film as an actor. I am a performing artist and not every single performance is a reflection of my political belief," Richa told IANS.

Citing an example of one of her earlier films, Richa added: "Look at 'Gangs Of Wasseypur'. It is the story of the coal mafia underworld. I played Nagma Khatoon, who kills her son. As Richa, do I support Nagma's decision to kill her son and take revenge? Of course not!"

She continued: "It is a luxury to get the right balance of character in a film, where my politics meets the politics of the character."

Richa is among actresses who participated in a non-violent protest against the JNU student attack and CAA, along with Taapsee Pannu, Huma Qureshi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Swara Bhaskar and Dia Mirza. On social media, too, she openly expresses her opinion on current affairs and social issues that bothers society at large.

She prefers not to use cinema as a tool of protest all the time. "Filmmakers are trying to make films. Actors work as performing artistes. Not every single film has to be a piece of political opinion. We have other platforms to explore that," she concluded.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)