In 1989, when Neena Gupta found out she was expecting a child, she was overjoyed — but she also knew the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. Choosing to have the baby as a single woman was a courageous decision,
made more complex by the fact that the father was West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards, and they weren’t married.
In a past conversation while promoting her series Masaba Masaba, the veteran actress reflected on her past relationships, single motherhood, and her daughter Masaba Gupta’s bond with her father, Vivian Richards.
When asked if she ever held resentment towards people from her past, Neena was clear. “I believe once you love somebody, how can you hate? You cannot live, you cannot be together. I don’t hate my ex-boyfriends. I don’t hate my ex-husband. Why should I hate?”
Neena Gupta On Her Relationship With Vivian Richards
The actress was also asked about her bond with former cricketer Vivian Richards. Neena dismissed the idea of hate entirely. She said, “Agar koi mereko itna bura lagta hai toh main bachcha usse paida karungi kyun? Mai pagal hun kya?”
In her memoir Sach Kahun Toh, Neena recounted feeling an initial rush of happiness upon learning she was pregnant. Still, she wanted to talk to Vivian before making a final decision. When he said he supported her, she felt relieved. “Vivian and I had an affair and I got pregnant. He had already returned home when I found out,” she wrote. She continued, “Some people advised me to get an abortion. Others cautioned against the perils of being a single parent. I listened to everyone patiently. They were all very concerned, I know. But once I was back home and alone, I asked myself: What do you think? How does this make you feel? The answer was: I was giddy with joy,” she wrote.
For years, Neena Gupta has openly spoken about raising Masaba single-handedly. She balanced career pressures with motherhood, carving out opportunities for herself to secure a stable future for her daughter. At a time when being a single mother in Bollywood was far from easy, she pushed through with strength and resilience.
Neena Gupta Movies
Even today, Neena continues to impress audiences. She recently appeared in Metro… In Dino and received wide praise for her portrayal of Manju Devi in the hit web series Panchayat.
