Veteran actress Neena Gupta is back on the Bollywood scene with a bang. The actress is having a second lease of life in her career after last year’s blockbuster hit Badhaai Ho. In a recent interview, the actress revealed about the time her daughter Masaba Gupta wanted to follow Neena’s profession and become an actress. However, Neena had advised her against following a career under the arc lights.
In the interview, Neena was asked about the time she met Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar on a place and had asked them to convince Masaba not to act. Neena laughed and replied with, “So mean and cheap kind of people they are. They gave me their number and phir phone he nahi uthate thay." She also was surprised at this incident and asked, “They remembered?”
Apparently, Neena had a very valid reason to discourage Masaba from acting. She explained, “I told her if you want to be an actor then you go abroad. Because tumhara jis tarah ka shakal hai aur body hai, tumhe yahan Indian mileu mein bohot kum role milenge, even if you become a good actor. So, tumko woh heroine nahi milegi. Hema Malini nahi banoge, Alia (Bhatt) nahi banoge."
Masaba is Neena’s daughter with former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards and she takes up after her father in looks which will not fit in with the traditional Indian looks that are accepted in films and society. Hence, Neena persuaded Masaba to do something other than act and insisted that she wanted her to understand how the Hindi Film Industry works. Masaba turned to fashion thereafter and is one of the leading designers of the country.
(Source: India Today)
