No one like Neena Gupta

Shyam Benegal's Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda begins with a harried mother readying her little one for school. No sooner is everything set than the tonga ferrying kids to school arrives. As she helps her son climb into the backseat and hands him his water bottle, the tonga takes off as the mother (Neena Gupta), watches fawning. This is how the scene should've been. During the take, the water bottle slipped. Instinctively, Gupta made a run for it picking it up and giving it to the child. It looked so natural that that's the final take in the film. "Once you're in character you just do what it needs. Had I stopped, maybe we'd have another take but this seemed more organic," says Gupta, who modestly credits Benegal for keeping it in the final edit.

Whether as a namesake in Saath Saath, Priya in Janne Bhi Do Yaaron, Vasanti in Mandi, Madanika in Utsav, Milagrenia in Trikaal, Mandira in Susman, Champa Didi in Khalnayak, Geeta Devi in Woh Chokri (which won her a National Award), Blossom in Ismail Merchant's Cotton Mary or more recently Tabassum in Mulk, as the mother in the latest Badhaai Ho or even a pressure cooker ad in the late '70s the hallmark of Gupta's style has always been a consummate ease of slipping into the skin of the character she plays.

Perhaps why her portrayal of a mother of two grown-up sons who suddenly discovers a third child is on its way in Badhaai Ho has led to audiences warming up to her character. "I was excited about the film since it was suggested. In a fun, light-hearted way it raises some very critical sexual and reproductive rights issues," says Gupta.

Rare Choices

And this standing out for her choices is not only true about Gupta's reel life. She is unapologetic about her unconventional choices. Soon after she came to Mumbai, Gupta approached Mewati maestro Pt Jasraj to train in music. But he asked his son Sharangdev to train her. "We soon got involved. So much so that I was living with the family," she reminisces. "I was seeking marriage but he was commitment-phobic." After a point, Gupta moved on.

In 1989, actor Vinod Khanna took her along to a dinner at the Maharajah of Jodhpur's palace. "I met Viv (Richards, the West Indies cricket legend) there first. He was extremely charming and it was difficult not to be attracted," she recalls. "Later I ran into him at the airport and realised he seemed equally interested." Soon the couple were seeing each other and she was pregnant with her first child. When Neena decided to take her pregnancy to term, she found herself running into a wall of social opprobrium. "My father was bitterly opposed to the idea. But as my pregnancy progressed, this opposition changed to his being protective. All through, as Masaba grew up, he stood like a rock behind me and I was able to leave so many responsibilities of the household to him," she reminisces.

When asked about marrying Richards, her ahead-of-times courage comes across. "He hadn't promised marriage. He comes from a culture where settling down doesn't mean the same thing as in India. I knew that when I chose that relationship."

She quashes all talks of bitterness: "No man is indispensable. The moment you give anyone the impression otherwise, you open yourself to hurt and abuse. Being financially independent and creating your own identity brings you respect." She quickly clarifies this is no one-size-fits-all mantra. "Just because I was a single mom doesn't mean everyone should be one. I think each person should decide what's best for them."

She remembers how lack of work pushed her into television. Though she had tasted popularity with Khandaan, Drishti, Yatra, Muhafiz, Junoon, Dillagi, Siski, Daane Anaar Ke and Mirza Ghalib, nothing has come close to her own Saans. She recalls being busy when Masaba was young. "With both acting and directing, I barely came home to sleep. I still wonder if I was a good enough mom," she agonises, but admits she couldn't have done it without her father and domestic help of 28 years, Sindhu.

Touching on the murmur of Masaba's marriage coming apart, she says, "As a mother, I'll support her when she needs. But she is an adult. If she wants separation, I respect that," says Gupta who herself tied the knot with Vivek Mehra a decade ago.

She insists current times are most interesting. "There's such a world of opportunity for women. I wonder why I wasn't born later."

But didn't she put out a post on social media asking for work? "And see how things changed soon after," she laughs. "Suddenly I'm being approached with such interesting work." The gifted actor will soon be seen in chef-turned-filmmaker Vikas Khanna's The Last Color and Ashwiny Iyer-Tiwari's Panga and Amit Sharma's Badhaai Ho!

[(Clockwise from top) A still from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983); with daughter Masaba; still from Mulk (2018); with the cast of Baadhai Ho (2018)]

Natural Talent

No starry nakhras (tantrums) and no chip on the shoulder about either the jaw-droppingly huge and versatile body of work or the huge fan following it has brought in its wake. Just a natural everydayness. Almost every industry insider and outsiders who have interacted with Gupta unfailingly mention this when you bring her up. It also stood out all through her conversations with this writer.

This Karol Bagh, Delhi girl born to middle class parents RN Gupta and Shakuntala, schooled at The Lawrence School, Sanawar – grew up in a strictly "non-filmy" background. "Both my brother Pankaj and I were told to focus on education," says this post-grad and MPhil in Sanskrit Literature. Chance roles in plays led to a course at the National School of Drama, which she passed in 1982.

"My family, particularly my Gandhian mom, was not too enthused by my acting in films. But I was headstrong and took the plunge," she reminisces. Without a godfather or any filmy connections in Mumbai, the going was anything but easy, as Gupta did rounds of studios and filmmakers' offices for work. Her first role was as a collegian in Saath Saath. "There were a bunch of college friends played by Avatar Gill, Javed Khan, Yunus Parvez, Satish Shah and Kiran Vairale. I was desperate for work and couldn't wait till I found a strong lead role," she recalls. Many felt it was a big mistake. "Girish Karnad warned I'd now only be considered for heroine's friend, bhabhi and such roles but not the lead."

A string of roles in parallel cinema followed, which she calls 'happenstance'. "After my initial films, directors close to each other knew I was looking for work and I took on what came my way." Within the year, she was auditioning as Kasturba for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. "Many well established names had tried their luck Attenborough felt I was too young to play Kasturba but cast me as Abhaben one of Gandhiji's trusted walking stick associates along with Supriya Pathak."

Ensemble Films

While this required only two-three days of shooting, she says it gave her a glimpse into global filmmaking very early on. "Despite working with an established senior like Ben Kingsley who was the lead, we were never made to feel less. Hierarchies that are such a quintessential part of Indian mainstream filmmaking hardly mattered."

Living with the ensemble cast and crew of Mandi etched in her memory. "It was magical to be part of the energy that went into this Benegal film. I made so many dear friends for life," she says, especially citing her really close bond with actor Soni Razdan. "We shared a room and became really close. With Kalpana Lajmi (who was assistant director) we formed a trio, watching plays and movies and hanging out with each other." Her voice dips as she remembers how Lajmi recently succumbed to a kidney ailment.

Benegal who cast Gupta in several projects calls her "hardworking." He says "Just because she is effortless many overlook how real she makes her characters." Praising her work in all his films, he says, "Trikaal establishes how much she understands her craft." In the movie, Gupta's portrayal of the illegitimate child of a deceased feudal, who matriarch Dona Maria (Leela Naidu), uses as a medium to communicate with her dead husband.

When asked why despite her on par craft, she has not attained the stature of her peers who have gone on to acquire international fame, Gupta brushes it off with Zen fatalism. "There's no point in getting caught in negative spirals. It may seem old fashioned, but I think it's best to make peace with one's destiny."