On the occasion of World Theatre Day on Wednesday, actress Richa Chadha spoke about how she owes a lot to theatre.

“The reason you feel alive when you perform is because you have some kind of theatre experience. I would really recommend that people treat theatre as an end in itself and not as a stepping stone to films because the journey of theatre is very rewarding,” Richa told a news agency.

She said that working on a play for months and then bettering it each time is a “really enriching experience.”

“I have found that whenever I have done a play I have come alive as a performer and I feel warmed and charged up and it is after all an actor’s medium. So, I owe a lot to theatre and I hope I can give back as well.”

On the work front, Richa will be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut web-series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Sheikh.

The series explores the cultural reality of Heeramandi, a district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons, set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s.