It’s the coming of age of an unconventional artiste, whose life has been laced with passion, scandal and heartbreak. As she stuns audiences with her latest release Badhaai Ho, she takes Megha Shah through the defining moments of her life
In July last year, Neena Gupta posted a fetching picture of herself on Instagram, with the caption: ‘I live in Mumbai and am working. I’m a good actor looking for good parts to play.’ It was startling to some that a National
Award-winning actor with a career of 30odd years would need to ask for work publicly, pitiful even. But few recognised it for what it was, a rather healthy and modern approach to life — and Instagram.
Sometimes the most refreshing take on social media can come from a 62-yearold. Though the tech age presents her with challenges (she’s currently learning how to buy books on Audible) her Instagram account is a delightful display of jaunty acuity and a casual disregard for some of the carefully curated, unspoken rules upheld by members of the social club.
A recent post shows her clutching a trolley at an airport, sporting a self-styled look with sunnies, captioned: ‘Socha apni airport look khud hi daal doon.’ A good-natured laugh at her own dwindling celebrity while simultaneously parodying the growing pap culture and the advent of the meticulously styled airport look.
‘It’s OK to wear a dress, even if your legs are fat’ reads an Instagram post she’s authored, signing off her quote with NG. ‘It’s OK to dream about Ranbir Kapoor’ reads another. On a platform that celebrates perfection her social media presence sticks out — just like her choices in films.
Gupta is surprisingly delicate in person. Unadorned, accoutred in khaki shorts and thick black glasses, revealing unexpectedly skinny legs, she walks towards me almost shyly, in the lounge of a Mumbai airport hotel, clutching a small crumpled parcel of foil, containing within it an omele¢ e sandwich, her homecooked lunch.
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