There have been multiple times that Neena Gupta has gone on record to speak about the challenges that she faced in her initial days in Mumbai. She was an outsider with no industry connections. Despite coming from the National School of Drama, Neena Gupta only got offers for small roles and had no financial stability whatsoever.
“When I came to Mumbai from Delhi with my ex-boyfriend, both of us didn’t have work, so I started working at the Prithvi café. I would make bharta in the evening, and the owner used to give me free dinner. In the interval, I used to make Irish coffee. We would just hang out there waiting for a director or producer would spot us,” she revealed in an interview, as quoted by Indian Express.
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Despite her trying to make ends meet, her then-boyfriend came back home one day after getting drunk and had very discouraging things to say to her, despite her paying for his cigarettes!
“One day, my boyfriend came, and I think he was drunk, and he asked if I had come all the way from Delhi only to become a waitress here. He mocked me, despite me paying for his cigarette money. He was questioning me for working hard, but wasn’t bothered about borrowing money from me. Thank God, I didn’t marry him,” she said.
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It was because Neena ji was resilient that she got where she is today. At an age where most female actresses give up on their careers, she’s had a fresh start and now, she is doing a brilliant job in lead roles one after the other!