Richa Gangopadhyay is an Indian film actress, model and former beauty queen who came into the lime light of South Indian cinema, with a Tamil political drama movie "Leader".
Early Life of Richa Gangopadhyay
Richa Gangopadhyay aka Antara Richa Gangopadhyay was born on 20th March 1986 to Utpal and Paula Gangopadhyay, in New Delhi. Her father works as the Vice President of Netshape Technologies, while her mother works as a Director of Education at The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. Her parents settled in the USA in 1989 after spending her first year in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Born as Antara Richa Gangopadhyay, Richa Gangopadhyay was 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. She went on to major in Dietetics and Health Administration at Michigan State University.
Modelling Career of Richa Gangopadhyay
In 2005 and 2006, Richa Gangopadhyay began participating in beauty pageants and finished in the top ten in the Miss India USA competitions, winning a smaller prize for Miss Congeniality. In August 2007, Richa won the Miss Michigan pageant and in December, she was crowned Miss India USA 2007 at the 26th annual pageant held at Royal Albert`s Palace in New Jersey.
During the competition, she also secured the title of Miss Photogenic and qualified to represent USA in the 17th Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant held in Johannesburg. Richa Gangopadhyay left the USA in 2008 to 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 modelling. In early 2009, Richa featured in a commercial for Vatika Almond Hair Oil alongside Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, while she also worked as a model for Peter England, Malabar Gold and Kalaniketan in the period.
Film Career of Richa Gangopadhyay
Richa Gangopadhyay was signed in the lead role in the 2010 Telugu film Leader directed by Sekhar Kammula. She was recommended to an assistant director of Leader whilst at a gym, who in turn recommended her to Sekhar Kammula. Her first release in 2011 was the action film Mirapakaay also featuring Ravi Teja and Deeksha Seth in lead roles. Harish Shankar initially offered her the role played by Deeksha. Furthermore 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, Richa Gangopadhyay made her debut in Bengali, her mother tongue, through the film Bikram Singha.
Filmography of Richa Gangopadhyay
| Year | Title |
| 2010 | Leader |
| 2010 | Nagavalli |
| 2011 | Mirapakaay |
| 2011 | Mayakkam Enna |
| 2011 | Osthe |
| 2012 | Bikram Singha |
| 2012 | Sarocharu |
| 2013 | Mirchi |
| 2013 | Bhai |