Neena Gupta opens up when quizzed on a decision she’d rethink if given a chance; actress, who plays Kangana Ranaut’s mother in her next, admits that a child suffers without both parents around
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 15, 2020)

On July 27, 2017, Neena Gupta had tweeted, “I live in Mumbai and I am working and I am a good actress koee kaam hai toe batao.” It was a move which, she admits in retrospect, was against her nature but she was tired of sitting at home, waiting for her work to speak for her. A lot has changed in the two years since. Today, the actress has as many as six projects, including the upcoming Panga, Kabir Khan’s sports drama ’83 in which she plays mother to Ranveer Singh’s Kapil Dev, Nikhil Advani’s film with Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh, Sanjay Mishra’s Gwalior, con caper Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, which she finished two years ago; along with two shows, Panchayat and Masaba Masaba which is part fiction and part fact, inspired by her daughter. Sounding upbeat, the 60-year-old actress exults, “Today, thanks to the advent of OTT platforms and content-based hits, filmmakers are experimenting with interesting subjects where it’s not just the hero and heroine who are important. The change has benefitted not just actors, but directors and writers too. Aaj kal character actors are busier than the hero and heroine,” she quips, tongue-in-cheek.

In her upcoming Republic Day release, Panga, Neena is playing Kangana’s mother. Director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari had met her in London and said that she had a very small role for her but it was important to the narrative. “I heard the story and liked the fact that she didn’t make a ‘hero’ of the mother. In real life, most mothers will insist that they won’t help out with grandchildren, par jab sar pe aata hai, they are there,” she points out. In real life too, her daughter knows she can go to her with anything, and while she may advise her against using chemical-based cosmetics, when Masaba told that she and her husband Madhu Mantena were separating, Neena didn’t wail and insist they stay married. “I just told her, ‘Soch lo’, then, I was respectful of their decision.”

Prod her on a decision that she’d rethink if she could turn the clock back and she says promptly, “I would not have a child outside marriage. Every child needs both parents. I was always honest with Masaba, so it did not affect our relationship, but I know she suffered.”

Interestingly, in Junglee Pictures’ Badhaai Ho, Neena played a woman who gets pregnant with her third child in middle age. The film changed a lot of things for her and the industry, with Neena bagging the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. “Imagine someone my age winning that award which many believed was only meant for the leading lady. If you were not young, you could at best get the supporting actress award, a category I don’t believe in because we are all actors. If the film hadn’t worked, to shayad itna fayda nahin hota,” she says matter-of-factly.

In a glitzy world of make-believe, it’s rare to come across someone who honestly admits to her middle-class roots. “In our home in Delhi, the lights would be turned off by 9 pm and after gulping down a glass of hot milk, we’d be in bed. Entertainment was restricted to Chitrahaar and the Sunday movie on Doordarshan. I’ve evolved with time and learnt from my daughter which designers and singers are in. I go for late night parties and if I have a little money, I sometimes buy something expensive, too,” she smiles.

Neena has been setting new fashion trends with her halter cholis, minis and sneakers on the red carpet. “I always dress like this, it’s just that because I never went for functions earlier, no one noticed. Now, thanks to fans and the social media, they’re talking about it,” she laughs gaily. Having a daughter who is a designer must also help? She nods, saying, “Masaba has helped me break some taboos, like wearing off-white with white or sneakers with a fancy gown. She’s given me the confidence to carry off stuff, which looks nice. It’s important that you are not embarrassed when you try something new,”she cautions.

Buzz is, she’s contemplating writing her autobiography? “It’s on my mind. I’m looking for a co-writer.” Will it be a tell-all? “In your life you do many things, but you can’t talk without thinking, because it can hurt those involved. So, I’ll have to find a way to be honest while still respecting others’ privacy,” she avers.

For now, she’s enjoying her second innings. While she personally doesn’t think Badhaai Ho should be carried forward—“ek baar achchi cheez ban jaaye to kheechna nahin chahiye”— she is open to the idea if director Amit Sharma comes back. “He’s my God, he’s helped me survive,” she asserts. Meanwhile, there’s another sequel, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, which, she says was the happiest set to be on. “We shot for 45 days and were laughing all through it,” she says. The film is a gay love story but Neena’s quick to add that it talks about a lot more and revolves around the family. “It’s a film with depth, one will have to watch it a couple of times to understand all that is being said in a light-hearted manner,” she maintains.

’83 was a one-day shoot, not much footage, but significant because, as Kapil’s daughter Amiya told her, her grandmother, Raj Kumari, was an important person in her father’s life and the household. Then, she has a challenging role in Nikkhil Advani’s cross-border love story. What about her TV show Saans? “I’m trying to crack a plot, I promise to make it before I die,” she signs off.

Neena Gupta on progress of Saans 2 and reuniting with friends, former co-stars for Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh’s next
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 25, 2019)

Earlier this week, Neena Gupta posted a picture with her Saans co-star Kanwaljit Singh, close friend Soni Razdan with whom she has worked in Shyam Benegal’s Trikal and Mandi and Divya Seth Shah. “Purane doston ke saath kaam karke bohot mazza aata hai,” she exclaimed.

The quartet was in Patiala, shooting for the Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh-starrer yetuntitled family dramedy, which is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Nikkhil Advani and John Abraham. Neena informs that since they can’t post pictures in their costumes, they decided to click one while binging on a delicious breakfast. “Soni and I are close friends and meet almost all the time, but I met Divya after a long time. I haven’t worked with her before, but we have common friends and I know her mother Sushma Seth. Also, I hardly meet Kanwaljit, maybe once in five years, when we bump into each other somewhere, but since we have known each other for ages, there is a great level of comfort,” says the actress.

She reveals that work on Saans 2 is in progress. “We had shot a pilot, but it didn’t work out, so I’m now working with someone else on it. Kanwaljit was a part of the pilot as well, though I haven’t told him I’m reworking it yet. We’re still writing, we don’t want it to look like the old times, or the old ways of making TV shows. Things have changed; we have all evolved and I think people expect me to give them something realistic, like we did with Saans. Sometimes you get stuck with the characters, but things are moving, and it will happen,” she asserts.

For now, Neena is still in Punjab while Soni, Kanwaljit and Divya return on Thursday. “We’ll shoot for three days, after which we will be back in Mumbai on December 30. Arjun is like a kid; great fun! He always jokes around on the set. It’s a fun mahaul,” the actress signs off.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 6, 2018)

In your upcoming film, Junglee Pictures’ Badhaai Ho you play the mother of two grown-up sons who suddenly discovers that a third child is on its way. That’s one quirky slice-of-life comedy…
(Laughs) Yes, the idea of an older woman getting pregnant, with me playing that part, really drew me to the script. It’s a topic of discussion today but was no big deal back when women were married off very early and could have a child till they were in their mid or late 40s, by which time the other children were much older. That’s still how it is in smaller towns. Shooting was great fun, we would all joke around and bonded like a family. When I returned to Mumbai, I texted all my co-actors saying I was missing them. Gajraj Rao ji’s very cute and nice, and even Ayushmann (Khurrana) never made me feel like I was working with a big star.

Did the role take you back to when you were carrying Masaba?
No, it didn’t bring any memories for me. My real pregnancy was very different, I was aloof and alone. It was nothing like this when the whole family, including the big boys, hover around my character. I didn’t flashback to my real pregnancy as that was a difficult time for me.

Last year, you made an appeal on Instagram for “good parts to play”. Since then, we’ve seen you in a significant role in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk, Amit Sharma’s Badhaai Ho revolves around you. You will next be seen in chef- filmmaker Vikas Khanna’s The Last Color and will kick off Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Panga next month. Enjoying this new phase?
I am loving it and taking good care of myself so that I can do as much work as possible. I exercise regularly, do yoga every morning and am regular with my daily walks. I’m also very particular about my diet. I don’t eat outside food at all and don’t go out much. All this is because if something interesting comes my way, I shouldn’t miss out on it because I am unwell.

This is the best period in my career. They used to call me the TV queen at one point but I never got anything substantial in films. The ones in which I had a bigger or a significant role were either never released or hardly seen. Nobody has watched Subhankar Ghosh’s Woh Chokri which bagged me a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. The Threshold featuring me and Rajit Kapoor never made it to the theatres. Badhaai Ho is an important film for me as it’s getting a big release and I have a good role in it.

And when is The Last Color whose first look was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival this year, opening?
It has a week’s work left on the post production. I saw a rough cut recently with my husband Vivek Mehra and he was crying, which is rare because he is a strong guy. It affected us so much that after the screening, even though we had made plans to go somewhere, we were no longer in the mood.

Are there plans to get back your popular 1998 TV show Saans?
Along with a new set of writers I have penned a really emotional and an identifiable script which is something like Saans. I am looking for a platform for it now. My business partner has been going around with the plan. Let’s see what happens. These days, people are scared to try something new and this is very different from what is playing on TV currently. I am really looking forward to it.

Your designer-daughter Masaba and filmmaker son-in-law Madhu Mantena announced their trial separation in August. Have you tried to get them to reconcile?
I am with them in whatever they decide. They have told me to let them decide for themselves. They are grown-ups so it’s only right. Whatever a mother has to tell her daughter I have told Masaba. I have also had a word with Madhu who is frank and nice. I am giving them time, let them sort it out themselves.

Roshmila Bhattavcharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 15, 2018)

A week ago, Neena Gupta had shared a picture of her sitting by the bedside with Brij Katyal at a free-of-charge hospice, Shanti Aeedna Sadan, at Mount Mary, Mumbai, thanking them for looking after her writer-friend and pointing out that despite all the words of wisdom and the movies that tell us not to give everything away to anyone before dying, we continue to make the same mistakes and suffer. “Lecture nahin hai, samne ki sachchai hai,” she reiterated in her post that quickly went viral. On Thursday, the octogenarian who had penned three emotional TV dramas with Neena in the lead, Dillagi, Pal Chhin and Saans, the last two directed by the actress, passed away. He was suffering from cancer.

Neena remembers Katyal as very good and a prolific writer who has also written films like Jab Jab Phool Khile and Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi and continued to write till his last days. “But more than that, he was a good human being. After Saans, there were times when I would request him to write something for me to submit to a channel. He never said ‘no’, never asked questions, never even asked for money,” she informs, adding that though they were good friends they lost touch when he went off to Jakarta to pen a serial for Jakarta Television Network.

When she learnt that he wasn’t keeping well, she immediately called him to enquire. In answer to her urgent, “What happened?” Katyal replied, saying he had something to confide and came over to her place with the news that he had been diagnosed with cancer. “But he was very positive, telling me that he would become well, he was undergoing some ayurvedic cure. But he didn’t get better, rather he got worse and I urged him to go in for proper treatment. But basically, there was no money,” she sighs. Was he alone then? Was there no one to take care of him? “He had a family, a son and two grandsons both of whom are married,” she replies, but doesn’t get into details, simply says that he was eventually moved out of home into the Mount Mary hospice where she went to meet him. “I was showing him photographs on my phone, I even showed him the trailer of my new film, Badhaai Ho, but he didn’t react much. They were planning to take him to another hospital where they could put a tube in to feed him. I heard later that he was slightly better, that he was speaking, but the cancer had spread,” she sighs again.

Is there something special she will remember him by, you prod, and she laughs, “Whenever we met, the first thing he would tell me was that I was looking prettier and younger, never mind if I was in my ghar ka kapda.”