Neena Gupta has always been known for speaking her mind, both on and off screen. Whether it’s about love, life or motherhood, she never hides behind filters. In the late 1980s, her relationship with West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards became the talk of the town. The two never married, but Neena chose to raise their daughter, Masaba Gupta, on her own.Despite society’s judgment, Neena stood strong. Today, she’s celebrated not just for films like ‘Badhaai Ho’ and ‘Metro… In Dino’, but also for her honesty about her personal journey, especially as a single mother.
Raising Masaba on her own
One of the most emotional parts of Neena’s journey has been explaining Richards’ absence to Masaba as she grew up. In an interview with Bombay Times back in 2015, the ‘Uunchai’ actress opened up about how hard it was for Masaba when her father wasn’t around or in touch.“I told her how her father is not a family man and how he was like this and this. In the beginning, she would feel bad that Vivian was not in touch with her till the age of about 20, but then he got in touch. His problem also is that he is not net savvy and so, it is very difficult to get in touch with him,” she explained.
An unpredictable connection
Neena spoke openly about how Vivian’s involvement was inconsistent. Sometimes, he’d show up or call, sometimes, he wouldn’t. As she added, “Sometimes, he would call her on her birthday and sometimes, he would not call for even three years. Sometimes, he would come here and meet and sometimes not. By then, I knew him and how he was.”The ‘Goodbye’ actress further explained, “If I told him I needed something, he would go mad finding it to bring it for me, but on his own, he would not bring anything. He is a person who cannot express his emotions.”
A soft side of Viv Richards
Despite everything, Neena had kind things to say about Vivian. She remembered watching him play a cricket match in Jaipur, where his team lost by just one run. She recalled, “I was in Jaipur watching a match in which he was playing. They lost the match by a run and as a captain, I saw him almost crying and I liked that about him. He is a very nice guy, down-to-earth, disciplined, but you can expect only that much from him. I feel that God gave me my father instead of him.”
Neena Gupta’s recent projects
Neena’s acting career continues to shine. She was recently seen in the film ‘Metro… In Dino’, directed by Anurag Basu, where she starred alongside Aditya Roy Kapur, Anupam Kher, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Ali Fazal and Sara Ali Khan. She also received wide praise for her role as Manju Devi in the popular web series ‘Panchayat’.
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