Neena Gupta: Apologised to Masaba for stopping her from being an actor

Mother-daughter playing themselves in Masaba Masaba

Despite acting for almost four decades in films, television, theatre and web shows, Neena Gupta admits she harboured fears when approached for Masaba Masaba. Her cause of concern - daughter Masaba who is making her acting debut with the Netflix series. "I was sceptical about how we would play ourselves on screen. Masaba had never acted before, so I wondered if she could pull it off," reasons the veteran.

The series is a scripted version of the ace designer's life as she navigates her professional and personal journey. Even as she guided Masaba during the initial readings, Gupta refrained from providing one too many tips. "During script readings, Masaba would go too fast. I had to tell her to pause and understand every nuance. [But once the cameras rolled], I did not interfere in any scene."

Having watched the show, the veteran says that Masaba has come alive on screen. "I apologised to her for stopping her from being an actor," says Gupta, who knew her daughter harboured aspirations of joining Bollywood. However, Gupta had then dissuaded her by telling her that she would be stereotyped in films. Now, she hopes Masaba will give acting a shot while handling her business.

Though the show borrows heavily from their lives, Gupta was certain that she did not want to offend those close to her with the offering. "From our first meeting with writer-director Sonam Nair and showrunner Ashvini Yardi, we drove home the point that we did not want to be bitter about anyone. But my husband [Vivek Mehra] may be offended as the actor playing him looks much older," she laughs.

There is no reference to Masaba's father, Vivian Richards in the series. Probe her on it, and she says, "There was no need [to mention him]. The story does not begin from her birth, but at a later stage in her life."

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