Neena Gupta is the popular Indian veteran actress and director of TV serials. She has won two National awards for the Hindi films ‘Bazaar Sitaram’ (1993) and ‘Woh Chokri’ (1994).
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Wiki/Biography
Neena Gupta was born on Thursday, 4 June 1959 (age 64 years; as of 2023), in Delhi. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. She did her schooling from The Lawrence School, Sanawar in Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Later, she pursued her M. A. and M. Phil in Sanskrit from Delhi.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 3″
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Husband
Neena Gupta was born in a Hindu family. Her father’s name is Late R. N. Gupta. Her mother, Shakuntala Gupta, died due to cancer. She has a brother, Pankaj Gupta.
An Old Picture of Neena Gupta with Her Family
An Old Picture of Neena Gupta with Her Father
At the age of 16, she got married to a boy from Calcutta who had studied from IIT Delhi, but the marriage lasted for only two years. While shooting for a TV serial in the 1980s, she met the veteran actor Alok Nath. There were rumours that they were engaged, and later got separated.
Neena Gupta and Alok Nath in a TV Serial
Later, she started dating Shaarangdev, the son of the popular Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. There were rumours that they both got engaged in a private ceremony, but later, they parted ways.
Shaarangdev
In the late 1980s, she started dating the West Indies cricket legend, Vivian Richards. The couple dated for almost 13 years. She has a daughter with him out of marriage, who was born in 1989. Neena and Vivian’s daughter is the popular Indian fashion designer, Masaba Gupta. Although Neena never got married to Vivian Richards, she is still good friends with him.
Neena Gupta with Vivian Richards
An Old Picture of Neena Gupta and Her Daughter
An Old Picture of Neena Gupta with Masaba Gupta
An Old Picture of Neena Gupta’s Daughter with Vivian Richards
In 2002, she met the Delhi-based Chartered Accountant, Vivek Mehra. They met on a flight to Mumbai and instantly got connected. Vivek had recently separated from his first wife at that time. After dating for a few years, the couple got married on 15 July 2008 in a private ceremony in the US. Neena lives in Mumbai while her husband lives in Delhi.
Neena Gupta’s Marriage Picture
Neena Gupta with Her Husband
Career
After completing her acting course from the National School of Drama in 1982, she started her career in acting.
An Old Photo of Neena Gupta While Studying at the NSD
She debuted as an actor in the Bollywood film ‘Saath Saath’ in 1982.
Neena Gupta in Saath Saath
In the same year, she came into the limelight with the International film ‘Gandhi,’ in which she played the character of ‘Abha.’
Neena Gupta in Gandhi
Later, she appeared in Bollywood films, like Mandi (1983), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), Rihaee (1988), Swarg (1990), and Drishti (1990).
Neena Gupta in Swarg (1990)
In 1985, she started acting in the Hindi TV serials with ‘Khandaan.’ Later, she appeared in many TV serials, including Daddy (1989), Drishti (1990), Saans (1999), Siski (2000), Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2004), and Kitani Mohabbat Hai (2009).
A Still from Neena Gupta’s Serial- Saans
In 1991, she made her Malayalam debut with the film ‘Vasthuhara.’
Neena Gupta in Vasthuhara
Her bold appearance in the item song ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ alongside Madhuri Dixit in the movie ‘Khalnayak’ (1993) was one of the chartbuster songs of that era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nd5NLbUu44
In 1999, she directed the TV serial ‘Saans.’ In 2002, she hosted a game show ‘Kamzor Kadi Kaun;’ aired on Star Plus.
Neena Gupta in Kamzor Kadi Kaun
She appeared as a supporting actor in many Bollywood films, including Alone (2015), Veere Di Wedding (2018), and Mulk (2018).
She again came into the limelight with the Hindi comedy-drama film ‘Badhaai Ho’ in 2018.
Neena Gupta in Badhaai Ho
In the same year, she penned down the script of ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain,’ a Hindi TV web series.
Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain
In 2019, she appeared in various films, including ‘Music Teacher,’ ‘Gwalior,’ and ‘The Last Color.’
Neena Gupta in The Last Color
In 2020, she acted in Hindi films, like ‘Panga,’ ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan,’ and ’83.’
Neena Gupta in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Controversies
She was in a long term relationship with the cricket legend Vivian Richards. She got pregnant with his child without getting married in 1988. This created a lot of buzz in the media at that time. She received a lot of criticism, and even her career got affected by this.
Awards & Honours
National Film Awards
1993: Best First Non-Feature Film for Bazaar Sitaram (Directed by Neena Gupta)
1994: Best Supporting Actress for Woh Chokri
Screen Awards
1999: Best Actress for Saans
Neena Gupta Posing with Her Awards
Filmfare Awards
2019: Best Actress for Badhaai Ho
2019: Best Actress (Critics) for Badhaai Ho
India International Film Festival of Boston
2019: Best Actress for The Last Color
Favourite Things
Food: Rajma Chawal
Actor(s): Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Colour: Cherry Red
Facts/Trivia
- She is an alumnus of the National School of Drama.
- Reportedly, her mother wanted her to become an IAS officer.
- She used to play hockey in her college’s team.
- She got Rs. 10,000 for the film ‘Gandhi’ in 1982.
- As per the sources, she got engaged thrice but none of them ended in a marriage.
- She is good friends with her ex-boyfriend and father of her daughter Vivian Richards.
Neena Gupta with Masaba and Vivian
- She has appeared in many TV commercials.
- She has featured on the cover of various renowned magazines.
Neena Gupta Featured on the Cover of a Few Magazines
- She is often spotted drinking alcohol at parties.
Neena Gupta in a Restaurant
- She follows a healthy vegetarian diet.
- Her hobbies include reading and travelling.
- She is an animal lover and owns a pet dog, Luca.
Neena Gupta with Her Pet Dog
- She is an ardent follower of Lord Ganesha.
Neena Gupta with an Idol of Lord Ganesha
- In an interview, she revealed her biggest regret was to give birth to a child without getting married.
- In an interview, when asked why she didn’t support her daughter to become an actor, she replied,
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.”
- In 1997, she released a pop album called ‘Go To Court,’ which was a big flop.
- She was in the news for a post on her Instagram account in 2017. She wrote,
I live and work in Mumbai. I am a good artist and am looking for good work.”
- After the release of her film ‘Badhaai Ho’ in 2018, she received an appreciation letter from the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Amitabh Bachchan’s Appreciation Letter to Neena
- In June 2021, she revealed in her autobiography “Sach Kahun Toh” that when she was pregnant with daughter Masaba, Satish Kaushik, an Indian filmmaker who is a good friend of her, offered to marry her. According to Gupta, Satish approached her and said,
Don’t worry, if the child is born with dark skin, you can just say it’s mine and we’ll get married. Nobody will suspect a thing.”
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Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn