She has danced with her on stage, performed with her in plays and shared many of her life-changing moments, both professional and personal. And now, as her compatriot continues to earn accolades for a game-changing role in a record-smashing film, author and editor Sathya Saran rewinds to some of her friend’s most meaningful turning points
Neena Gupta is teaching me chhau. Her fluid, balanced movements translate into puppet-like actions through my limbs, but her patience will finally melt the stiffness and ensure me my place in the play. Later, as Andromache, one of the most tragic figures of The Trojan Women, the play by Euripides that we are rehearsing for Veenapani Chawla, I watch the dancer give way to the actor, her face a study in suppressed pain as she looks at her dead child.
Over the years I have spotted her in films where she always bagged the o eat role. The one that stood out, even when she was not the main player. Vasanti in Mandi (1983), Milagrenia in Trikal (1985), Mandira in Susman (1987).... Shyam Benegal knew how best to exploit her multilayered talent. Contrast her role as Madanika in Utsav (1984), simmering with sensuality, or as Champa Didi in Khal Nayak (1993) with Abha in Gandhi (1982) and I rest my case.
SCENE NEENA AS DURGA
She storms into my office where I am working as the editor of a magazine, asking if all journalists are “like this!” She plans to sue another editor of the group, she tells me; he has broken trust, bribed hospital officials and got hold of the birth certificate that names Viv Richards as her daughter’s father. I ask her how she will cope with being a single, unwed mother in an industry which, at least then, holds women to ransom for stepping off the beaten path. I remember her saying, she doesn’t give a damn!
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
