Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta and cricket legend Viv Richards, has carved a successful space for herself as one of India’s leading fashion designers. But long before that, Masaba once aspired
to become a Bollywood heroine.
In an interview with ANI, Neena revealed that Masaba’s interest in acting developed at a young age and was influenced by people around her. “It was not her decision. It just happened. Circumstances were like that,” Neena said.
Neena shared that she discouraged Masaba from chasing mainstream Bollywood roles and chose to be honest about the industry’s beauty standards at the time.
“I told her, look, your face is like this, your body is like this. You won’t get the heroine of a Hindi film because you don’t look like that. It’s a fact,” the veteran actor said, calling it a necessary reality check rather than criticism.
Acting Training Over False Hopes
Instead of shutting the door on acting completely, Neena encouraged Masaba to get professional training and consider character roles. Masaba eventually made her acting debut with Netflix’s Masaba Masaba, where she played a fictionalised version of herself, alongside Neena as her on-screen mother.
Neena admitted she was emotional after watching her daughter perform. “I cried when I saw her work. She is such a good actor. She’s very natural. I was shocked. She was like a pro,” she said.
Neena Gupta on Industry Reality and Painful Lessons
Drawing from her own experience, Neena also spoke about how the film industry works. A National School of Drama graduate, she revealed that several of her early films went unnoticed due to a lack of promotion, despite her hard work.
“This industry is a business. You have a market value. You get paid accordingly and you get roles accordingly,” she said, adding that popularity and success decide an actor’s future more than effort alone. Neena also described it as painful when her work failed to reach audiences because of poor publicity.
What’s Next for Neena Gupta
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Neena Gupta has won several National Film Awards and Filmfare honours. She will next be seen in Vadh 2, a crime thriller starring Sanjay Mishra, described as a spiritual sequel to Vadh. The film is set to release in theatres on February 6.
