Richa Gangopadhyay

Richa Gangopadhyay
Richa Gangopadhyay smiling at camera
Gangopadhyay at the 2013 South Filmfare Awards in Hyderabad, India.
Born Antara Gangopadhyay
(1986-03-20) 20 March 1986
New Delhi, India
Residence Northville, Michigan, U.S.
Education MBA,
BS, Communication
Alma mater Michigan State University,
Washington University in St. Louis
Occupation Film actress, model
Years active 2009–2013
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Title Miss India USA 2007
Parent(s)
  • Utpal Gangopadhyay
  • Paula Gangopadhyay

Richa Gangopadhyay (born Antara Gangopadhyay on 20 March 1986) is a former Indian film actress and model who predominantly appeared in Telugu films. She has also appeared in a few Tamil and Bengali films. She completed an MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis in May 2017.[1]

After appearing in commercials, she made her film debut with the Telugu political drama film Leader (2010) and later worked on several commercially successful Telugu films such as Nagavalli (2010), Mirapakaay (2011), Sarocharu (2012) and Mirchi (2013). She also played the lead in two Tamil films, including the Dabangg remake, Osthe (2012) and the critically acclaimed film Mayakkam Enna (2012), directed by Selvaraghavan, for which she received numerous "Best Actress" awards. She also appeared in the Bengali film Bikram Singha.

In October 2013, Gangopadhyay announced that she would leave the film industry and move back to the United States to pursue her MBA and focus on her long-term career ambitions.[2] In a short span of four years, she starred along with prominent Telugu, Tamil and Bengali actors such as Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Ravi Teja, Prabhas, Dhanush, Prosenjit and silambarasan

Personal life

Richa Gangopadhyay was born on 20 March 1986 to Utpal and Paula Gangopadhyay in New Delhi.[3] Her father works as the Vice President of Netshape Technologies, while her mother works as the Deputy Director of the prestigious Institute of Museums and Library Services, after having been nominated by President Obama to serve as a member of the IMLS Board. Her parents settled in the U.S. in 1989 after spending her first year in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, with Richa being brought up in Pennsylvania and Michigan. While attending Okemos High School, as a Junior, she was featured in the local media for founding a youth-tutoring program for at-risk children in Lansing, which she ran for four years.[4] She went on to major in Dietetics and Health Administration at Michigan State University.[5]

Career

Early career and modeling (2005–09)

In August 2007, Gangopadhyay won the Miss India Michigan pageant and in December of that year, was crowned Miss India USA 2007 at the 26th annual Miss India USA pageant held at Royal Albert's Palace in New Jersey.[6] Richa also secured the title of Miss Photogenic. She represented the U.S. in the 17th Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant held in Johannesburg, and secured a place in the Top 10.[7]

Gangopadhyay left the U.S. in 2008 for Mumbai, India to embark on a career in films. She subsequently graduated with a diploma in acting from Anupam Kher's acting school, Actor Prepares, and completed her portfolio, earning offers for work in fashion shows and for modeling. In early 2009, Gangopadhyay featured in a commercial for Vatika Almond Hair Oil alongside Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, while she also appeared in several print ads and TV commercials for Peter England People, Pepe Jeans, Malabar Gold and Kalaniketan.[8]

Public recognition and success in films (2010–2013)

Richa was signed on to portray the lead role in the 2010 Telugu film Leader, produced by AVM Productions and directed by Sekhar Kammula.[9] She was recommended to an assistant director of Leader, who in turn recommended her to Sekhar Kammula. Gangopadhyay went to Hyderabad to audition for the film on her birthday. She was selected instantly and started shooting started 2 days later.[8] In the film, she played the role of Archana, a Correspondent with a TV channel and a daughter of a politician who falls in love with the title character, played by debutant Rana Daggubati. The film opened in theatres worldwide to positive reviews and did well commercially, with Gangopadhyay's performance described as "pretty and charming" and "good in a performance oriented role" by critics.[10][11] After the success of the film, director P. Vasu signed her up to appear in Nagavalli, a sequel to his 2005 film Chandramukhi. The film featured an ensemble cast of Venkatesh, Anushka Shetty, Shraddha Das and Poonam Kaur.

Richa Gangopadhyay

During the production of the film, Vasu was initially unimpressed and Gangopadhyay has revealed that he had planned to drop her from the project.[12] The film also opened to mixed reviews, with Gangopadhyay's portrayal of a girl psychologically possessed by the ghost of Nagavalli, leading to critics dubbing her as "impressive" and "convincing".[13][14]

Her first release in 2011 was the action film Mirapakaay, starring opposite Ravi Teja for the first time. She was signed after the director of the film, Harish Shankar, who had noticed her at the success party of her previous film Leader. He initially offered her the role played by Deeksha as she was an NRI, but when they met to review the script, he was convinced that Gangopadhyay would do justice to the character of Vinamra, a traditional Telugu Brahmin girl.[15] The film opened to good reviews with Gangopadhyay's performance being described as "just about okay" by critics.[16] Gangopadhyay was next seen in two Tamil films; the first being Mayakkam Enna, a drama film featuring Dhanush and directed by Selvaraghavan, which earned her tremendous positive reviews and appreciation from all over. She then appeared alongside Silambarasan in Dharani's Osthe, the Tamil remake of the 2010 Hindi film Dabangg, winning critical acclaim for her role as Neduvaali. In 2012, she made her debut in Bengali, her mother tongue, through the film Bikram Singha : The Lion Is Back, opposite the prolific Prosenjit Chatterjee, a remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu.[17] She also featured in the Telugu films Sarocharu,[18] Mirchi and Bhai opposite actors Ravi Teja, Prabhas and Nagarjuna, which were released in 2012 and 2013.

Post-film Career

In October 2013, Gangopadhyay announced that she would leave the film industry and move back to the United States to pursue her MBA and focus on a long-term career in business management.[19]

Filmography

YearTitleRole(s)LanguageNotes
2010LeaderArchanaTelugu
2010NagavalliGowri/ChandramukhiTelugu
2011MirapakaayVinamraTeluguTSR-TV9 National Film Award – Special Jury Award[20]
2011Mayakkam EnnaYaminiTamilNominated- Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Tamil
Edison Award for Best Actress
Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress
SIIMA Award - Special Appreciation (Actress)
2011OstheNeduvaaliTamilSouthspin Fashion Awards- Stylish Diva Award[21]
2012Bikram SinghaMadhuBengali
2012SarocharuVasudhaTelugu
2013MirchiMaanasaTelugu
2013BhaiRadhikaTelugu

Other awards

References

  1. ↑ "Richa Gangopadhyay about Executive MBA program- The new mantra of success". The Hans India. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  2. ↑ "Richa Gangopadhyay to take a break from films". The Times of India. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  3. ↑ K. Janani DC chennai (2011-09-13). "Richa Gangopadhyay: Indian roots, American confidence!". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  4. ↑ "Plymouth News". Richagangopadhyay.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  5. ↑ "Richa: No skin show please!". The Times Of India. 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  6. ↑ "Richa Gangopadhyay is Miss India USA 2007". Bihar Times. 5 January 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  7. ↑ "Meet the new Miss India USA – Rediff.com movies". Inhome.rediff.com. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  8. 1 2 "Richa Gangopadhyay interview – Telugu Cinema interview – Telugu film actress". Idlebrain.com. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  9. ↑ "Rana paired with Richa – Telugu Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  10. ↑ "Review: Leader comes at the right time". Movies.rediff.com. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  11. ↑ "Leader film review – Telugu cinema Review – RaNa Daggubati, Richa Gangopadhyay & Priya Anand". Idlebrain.com. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  12. ↑ "I got fever while doing Nagavalli: Richa". India Glitz. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  13. ↑ "Nagavalli is fascinating". Rediff.com. 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  14. ↑ "Movie Review:Nagavalli review". Sify.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  15. ↑ 'My character in Mirapakai is just too cute to handle'. Rediff. 10 January 2011
  16. ↑ "Ravi Teja shines in Mirapakai – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  17. ↑ "Richa makes her debut in Bengali". 123telugu.com. 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  18. ↑ "Richa's Ooty romance". Behind Woods. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  19. ↑ "Richa takes break from films". The Times of India. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  20. ↑ TSR Tv9 Film Awards - Richa Gangopadhyay - April 20th, Saturday. 2013. Event occurs at 00:49. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "Southspin Fashion Awards Winners 2012". southspin. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Superhit Film Awards 2010 Winners! – Mirchi 9 – Web Mirchi | Telugu Movie News from leading websites |Telugu Movie Gossips". Mirchi9.com. 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  23. ↑ "Vijay and Richa win big at Edison awards". Behindwoods. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  24. ↑ "Vishal and Richa are the big winners!". Behindwoods. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  25. ↑ "2012 SIIMA Awards:Winners List". Kolllyinsider. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
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