Actor Neena Gupta has often opened up about the dark side of Bollywood and her experiences as a single mother. Her candid confessions on the inner workings of the industry have been a revelation. She now speaks of preconceived stereotypes of leading ladies in the industry and how film directors never saw her ‘as a commercially viable actor’, reports HT.
Neena said, “See, it was always Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, and Deepti Naval who were seen as the face of art-house cinema, and even though Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani knew me, but they never saw me as a commercially viable actor.”
She further added, “I didn’t know how to conduct myself in the industry. I thought everyone was a friend. Nobody is your friend. They are doing their job and you have to do yours. I couldn’t learn how to talk to people. I was hesitant to persuade people constantly thinking it would push them away more and they’ll end up not talking to me.
She explains that she was very shy and didn’t know the rules of the business.
“So, I made plenty of mistakes, and have been made a fool of because I didn’t know any better, I am a ‘ghusudu’. You should know when to exit.”
In an interview, she admitted that even though Govind Nihalani was ‘friendly’ with her, he never cast her in a lead role. “It was always Shabana, Smita, Dipti, we got nothing. Not just me, but all the others who came with me. Not that we were ugly, or we were bad actors, or we were fat. But I never learned how to interact with people,” she concludes.
Do you think the film industry is more inclusive today, or does it still pander to the same stereotypes? Tell us!