Neena Gupta Reveals Why She Prayed for Her Films Not to Release: ‘I Will Suffer but…’
Neena Gupta is a celebrated actress who has been associated with the Indian film industry for many decades. Her four National Film Awards are proof of her acting talent. Today, she is also regarded as the diva who is not only aging like fine wine but also gives every youngster a run for their money. But did you know there were times she prayed to God and wished some of her films never see the light of the day because they were bad?
In a recent chat with Siddharth Kannan, Neena Gupta went back in time and recalled how she used to take ‘bad’ roles so she could earn money and make ends meet. The senior star stated that for many years, she took on roles even when her heart didn’t agree with them. The Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway actress stated that when she came from Delhi to Mumbai to work in the Indian film industry, she could not even meet the director. “I used to do very bad, stupid, horribly written roles like that of a servant,” she reminisced, adding that she had no other solution since she joined the industry against her parents’ wishes. Hence, she didn’t want to take money from them.
She elaborated that she has done “so many bad roles” that sometimes she used to pray to God ki ye release nahi ho ye picture (that the film does not release) because it was so bad. “My value is that I will suffer but I will not ask for money. That is my value,” she concluded.
Recently, the actress won the National Film Award for the film Uunchai. When asked what this win meant to her, personally and professionally, the actress exclusively told Pinkvilla, “This award is special for two reasons. One is that it is a National Award. National means India ke sabhi regions ki filmein, bhashayein aur pranto ki filmo mese aap chune jate hai (You are chosen from the films and languages of all regions and states of India). It’s not just from Hindi cinema.”
She added, “It’s a very special award for me because of Sooraj Barjatya. I have been wanting to work with him for the past 35 years, and it just happened, and getting an award with and for his film was a very important thing for me.”
Meanwhile, on the work front, Neena Gupta was last seen in Kaagaz 2.
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