A lookback at the love story of Neena Gupta and Sir Vivian Richards

Neena Gupta and Vivan Richard’s romance brewed back in the late 1980s. The West Indian cricket team landed in India for a series led by Captain Vivian Richard who was famous for being the ladies' man. For the unversed, Vivian was married (although separated) at that time and had two children. Media reports suggest that Neena met Vivian at a party in Mumbai and even though the two had nothing much in common, sparks flew between them.

Neena Gupta was soon pregnant with a baby but getting married to Vivian was totally off the cards. 

Neena Gupta was raised by orthodox parents and in those days having a child out of wedlock was unheard of. In fact, even today celebrities would think twice before having a love child given the kind of attention celebs command. However, Neena Gupta wasn't one to be cowed down by society or its orthodox norms. She stood against the wishes of her friends and family, as she went ahead with her pregnancy to give birth to her love child, Masaba Gupta.

In a 2017 interview, while talking about her dad Sir Vivian Richards, Masaba said, "I have deep respect and love for both my parents. They are both their own kind of people, successful and yet not running with the herd. Through the time when I was between 8 till I turned 14, I remember my holidays with my father. He was very active in commentary then, travelling the world, and he would come to India quite often. I never really stayed with him, but mom and I would go on holidays with him." And even though Masaba never really had her father around in her childhood, Neena was always there for her. However, she had her own struggles. From a journalist outing her birth certificate back in the day to reveal her father's name to being called an "illegitimate West-Indian", Masaba has had her own journey of ps and downs and self-acceptance. 

In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Neena Gupta had once said when asked the one things from her past she would want to reconsider, "I would not have a child outside marriage. Every child needs both parents. I was always honest with Masaba, so it did not affect our relationship, but I know she suffered." 

Even though it took Masaba years before she could finally accept the way she looked, her ethnic background and the giving a damn about the fact that she is a child born out of wedlock, her journey of self-discovery and self-love has been inspirational. Recently, she shared two posts about self-love. In one she wrote, "What if I told you that no matter where you come from, the colour or your skin or the hook of your nose, or that scar from 7th grade, amazing things will happen to you. But you must keep your chin up. You must always keep your chin up. You must always look up." The other note read, "When I am asked who I am or who I want to be, I never really have an answer. My grandfather was from Benaras, my mother is from Old Delhi. My great-grandmother from Lahore. And my father from the Caribbean. But I have my eyes on the world. Then how can I be just one thing?"