Richa Chadha apologizes for portrayal of Dalits in Madam Chief Minister's promotional material

Actress Richa Chadha has put out a statement calling the portrayal of the Dalit protagonist in Madam Chief Minister "regrettable".

Directed by Subhash Kapoor, Madam Chief Minister tells the story of a Dalit woman who, despite her humble origins, goes on to occupy the highest position in a state government.

The film's trailer and promotional posters were criticized for their portrayal of Dalits which many termed a product of the 'savarna (upper-caste) gaze' and privileged presumptions.

In her statement, Chadha said, "This film was learning experience for me, for us all. The promotions were no different. The first poster that was released faced severe criticism, rightly so. What to me (and my privileged eyes) was a mere prop used by my character in a scene came across as a stereotypical portrayal of Dalits for many of our people (sic)."

The actress, however, said this was not done on purpose. "As an actor, I receive the communication for posting, complete with the copy, handles, and hashtags," she said. "Needless to say, I have no role in the designing of promotional materials. By saying this, I am not throwing the makers under the bus. They realized this inadvertent error and took this criticism in their stride. They responded immediately by retracting the objectionable poster and releasing a new poster the very next day. It was a regrettable and completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation. We are sorry. Our heart is in the right place. Hopefully, you will see that for yourself when you watch the film."

She added, "We have made this film for love, as though we were on a mission to tell this story. Tara, one feisty oddball of a woman, fights patriarchy, caste oppression and brutal violence along with the usual betrayals of politics to rise to the top and effect change. And she does so with incredible dignity and courage. I could relate to her righteous rage. She spoke to me. As the film nears release, I am becoming aware that I have to say goodbye to Tara. I am also aware that she will never entirely leave my side."

The film, which also features Saurabh Shukla, Manav Kaul and Akshay Oberoi, is set to be released in theatres on 22 January.