Neena Gupta has spent many years in the field of cinema. In a recent podcast with Siddharth Kannan, she mentioned that many movies at the beginning of her career were 'terribly written' but she had to sign those films because she needed a job. Her parts were so poor that she even hoped the films would never come out.
Neena Gupta was asked if she had ever performed any role that she did not like, and she confessed that she had been doing it for many years. She remembered entering the film world when actors hardly got to meet directors. Neena said she often accepted badly written parts, like that of a 'servant' because other options weren't there or available for her. Entering the industry against her parents' desires, she preferred not to depend on their money. In her words:
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"I have done it for years! When I came here to do films we could not even meet the director. I used to do very bad, stupid, horribly written roles like that of a servant. But I had no other solution. I came against my parents' wishes so I did not want to take money from them."
Neena Gupta said that in her career, she often took roles she thought were really bad. She would sometimes hope these films did not come out. She wished people had never seen them. The actress mentioned that even in tough situations, her personal values stayed strong. Even with bad roles, she stayed true to herself and did not lose her integrity.
Neena Gupta talked about her self-worth. It came from her strength to go through tough times without asking for money. She believed that no matter how hard things got, she would not seek financial help. This belief guided her in her career. In her words:
"I have done so much bad roles that sometimes I used to pray to God ki ye release nahi ho ye picture (wish that the film does not release) because it was so bad. My value is that I will suffer but I will not ask for money. That is my value."
Neena got the National Award for her role in Uunchai as Best Supporting Actress. This was her third National Award. She previously bagged the award for Best First Non-Feature Film as a director for Bazar Sitaram (1993) and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Woh Chokri (1994). People last watched her in Kaagaz 2. She is waiting for the release of her series, 1000 Babies.
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What are your thoughts on Neena Gupta's journey and her experiences with challenging roles in her early career?
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