My memory of Neena Gupta, when I was growing up, was the image of the opening credits of her show ‘Saans’ playing on tv with that big red bindi. Needless to say, in the last few years, after ‘Badhai Ho’, I have watched almost everything she has been a part of and enjoyed her brilliant and effortless performances. Adding to that, she is on top of her social media presence. Not only are the posts endearing, but she also used this platform to her benefit when she wanted to get back to acting and straight out posted that she has always been here and is now looking for work. That goes to show the courage and passion she has to go after what she wants.
Neenaji has penned down her life out beautifully, almost like she is writing in her journal. Chronologically, reflecting on life from her growing up in Delhi to attending NSD and kickstarting her acting career. She had a flourishing career in theatre and had created her niche in ‘Arthouse Cinema’. Now taking that career to commercial cinema was a different world altogether and new hurdles to cross. She writes about one of those big films, where she worked with the veteran actor Vinod Khanna and how sometimes those simple moments of kindness can change your whole experience of filming in a new territory.
Through her struggles and hardships, Neenaji never lost that touch with positivity that kept her going. From the experiences she has described, it would be easy to get frightened, give up and walk away. She took it with a pinch of salt and always found a way to deal with it and move on, with a new lesson learnt, in her growing trajectory. She has spoken about how easy it was to get stuck in a mould of a genre of acting and how that played a big part in why was she offered only certain kinds of roles. But she took what came her way because those meagre roles were keeping her afloat in the big city of Mumbai.
Her time working in mainstream cinema also gave her a taste of what goes on behind the cameras. How Neenaji has witnessed the craft of creating a tv series or a film and being an actor on those sets has changed abundantly now from the time she started. She talks about the time in her life when she dealt with self-confidence. Why she accepted supporting roles when she knew, already being a National Award winner, she deserved so much more. Women did not speak up and brazenly asked for what was rightfully theirs like they do now.
Neenaji has led an open and unconventional life, as they say, with complete grace and dignity. The society and culture we live in, is sometimes enough to pull you down if you have made some unusual choices. Moreover, being a public figure with the media tracking your every move surely doesn’t make it easier. What I most admired about her through these honest chapters was how she held her ground through everything. She lived her life unapologetically to the fullest, and that takes a crazy amount of mental strength and resilience to power through. Sure, she had her ups and downs but, she always saw the bright shining light at the end of some very dark tunnels.
Neenaji has indeed been a household name in her own right. Reading about her childhood stories reminded me of when my parents reminisce about their memories growing up, with that glint of joy reflecting in their eyes. I’ve always liked memoirs, and I am so glad I picked up ‘Sach Kahun Toh’ because the writing is very candid and anecdotal, making for a more compelling book.
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