Filmmakers forget you if you don’t repeat your roles: Neena Gupta

Bollywood star Neena Gupta only has a faint recollection of her time in Malayalam cinema. Still, one of her standout memories is of the sari she received from Mohanlal after the shoot of G Aravindan’s 1991 film ‘Vasthuhara’. The superstar invited her to his home in Chennai and gave her the sari as a token of love and friendship. Thirty-three years later, Neena felt a sense of deja vu when her ‘1000 Babies’ co-star Sanju Sivram gifted her with a traditional Kerala sari. 
In a free-wheeling chat with Onmanorama, Neena Gupta says she is happy to be part of the Malayalam industry, which gave her two hits ‘Vasthuhara’ and ‘Aham’, both starring Mohanlal in the 1990s. While in ‘Vasthuhara’ she played a communist revolutionary Dayamati, in ‘Aham’ she essayed the role of Mother Nobble.

Comeback to Malayalam 
The journey has been exciting for me as  '1000 Babies' marked my return to Malayalam after a long while. I found the story of ‘1000 Babies’ interesting, but I was not entirely sure how it would pan out visually, since I did not know much about the director, scriptwriter or cinematographer before this. However, the makers exceeded my expectations and brought out a beautiful project mounted on a grand scale.

Working in ‘1000 Babies’ 
It was amazing. I was relieved Sanju (who played Bibin in ‘1000 Babies’) was part of the series since he was the only one who spoke both English and Hindi on the sets. Before we knew it, we had become good friends. I would sit in a corner and listen to music when I was not acting. But when Sanju was there, he would always be speaking with me. He is also an outstanding actor, and both these facts helped my performance, too. It was also terrific working with Najeem Koya.

About Sarah
Sara Ouseph was a complex character to play. I had to be prepared emotionally and physically to do this character, but it was lovely. Honestly, it was an exceptional series, but I am sad that people cannot experience this in theatres.

Tackling typecasting
As an actor, you should be able to do all sorts of roles. It is essential to do that in movies, otherwise you get typecast. I said no to seven to eight movies because I got the same role. There is also a flip side of trying hard not to be typecast. People forget to cast you if you don’t do typecast roles because they won’t particularly remember you while the casting process of a film happens. I remember a very close director friend cast another actor of the same age for the kind of role I could easily have done. When I confronted him, he said it slipped his mind. 

Tackling rejections 
It hurts, and I generally don’t watch serials or films because I may feel depressed or low if I see I lost a chance. I also faced a lot of difficulties when I started as an actor. Though you got roles, filmmakers would easily remove you from the scenes during editing. I still remember an incident with my boyfriend. I told him to watch a movie I had starred in. Both of us were excited. However, when he returned from the movie, he said I was not there in any scene in the film. I even asked him if he had seen the entire movie, and he nodded in the affirmative (she laughs). Now, things have changed. You have a lot of opportunities in terms of films and series.

About the new role in real life
I still don’t know what is happening because it is a significant phase. I want to devote a lot of time to my daughter so that she can go through this period successfully, given that a lot is happening. My only concern now is Masaba and her baby and their food and health, just like any typical mother. I want my daughter to be healthy to look after her daughter. I am not thinking about anything else now, and I have not taken up two projects because of this new phase. I have started season 4 of Panchayat, but for now, I am at the beck and call of my daughter.

Malayalam and Mohanlal 
I have only a few memories of working in Malayalam, except that I worked in these two wonderful films ‘Vasthuhara’ and ‘Aham’. I have always been a fan of Mohanlal’s work. Aravindan sir was great, too, but I remember Mohanlal inviting me to his house in Chennai and gifting me a sari after ‘Vasthuhara’.