Panchayat actress Neena Gupta recently revealed that a man had called off their wedding at the last minute. In a conversation with Humans of Bombay, the 66-year-old recalled feeling heartbroken and confused.
The Metro In Dino actress also shared her candid views on independent women and marriage, stating that in a patriarchal society, many men struggle to sustain relationships with strong, financially independent women.
Watch the conversation here:
Neena Gupta’s Marriage Was Called Off After Her Engagement
Neena Gupta revealed that a man she was engaged to called off their wedding with a lame excuse. With only days away, preparations were in full swing. Gupta was in Delhi with her family and friends to buy her wedding clothes.
“We had exchanged rings. I was engaged,” Gupta said. However, the man ditched her at the last minute. He told the actress that he did not want to marry because he had to “undergo a sinus operation.”
“I said sinus ka operation to baadmein bhi ho sakta hai (I said the sinus operation could wait),” Gupta recalled. She was left heartbroken and confused. Six months later, the same guy changed his mind and returned to Gupta.
“He came to me after six months and said, ‘Let’s marry’. I said ‘f**k off, now I don’t want’,” Gupta recalled. However, she also admitted she did not know about the man’s circumstances. “We make decisions under compulsion. Let’s not judge people based on their decisions,” she added.
Neena Gupta tied the knot with chartered accountant Vivek Mehra in 2008.
Neena Gupta Says Men Do Not Like ‘Strong, Independent Women’
While Gupta is unsure why that man cancelled their wedding, the actress says men do not generally like independent women. “Men don’t like strong, independent women. As a woman, if you are earning more than some men, then you are definitely out of the conversation,” she said.
“A strong woman is not marriage material,” she added. Gupta added that men are conditioned to settle for damsels in distress because that allows them to have a certain “power over women.”
“They hate strong women, or women who have their own thoughts, women who work, who are committed to their own careers. They hate that,” Gupta said.
