Neena Gupta, who spent a lot of time at her home in Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand, during the past few months, recently got back into work mode. The actress in an interview with Radio Mirchi speaks about how reading newspapers is a part of her daily routine, and something that she never misses out on. “Jab aap akhbaar padhte hain na, sirf news hi nahin padhte. Uske ilava bhi aap bahut saari cheezein dekhte hain, toh ek gyaanvardhan hota hai, har cheez ke prati,” she says. Talking about what she reads first when she opens the newspaper, she shares, “Main sabse pehle page 3 padhti hoon... it’s related to my profession, lekin main doosri news bhi padhti hoon.”

Even when she has a hectic schedule ahead of her, she ensures that she catches up on news through the papers. She says, “Even if I don’t manage to read all of it, main headlines toh padh leti hoon. Even if one does that, you get to know so much about what’s happening in the country and the world. Also, if you read an English newspaper, your language skills will improve and the same holds true for Hindi, too. So, this is one tradition, which is very good and has several benefits.”

The actress has inculcated the habit in her daughter, designer Masaba Gupta, too. Neena says, “Maine Masaba ko bhi bola hai ki tumhein padhna chahiye. So, she also reads the newspaper, maybe not as much as I do, but I always encourage her.”