This actress, who once worked in a cafe for free food, now charges 2 crore per film.
The glamour industry does assure a comfortable, luxurious life after you win the hearts of the audience and make it to the top, however, the journey and struggles behind that success often go unnoticed. One of the actresses in Bollywood once used to work in a cafe in return for free food and became a star in her 60s.
The actress we are talking about came to Mumbai from Delhi with her boyfriend and one Instagram post changed her life. Now, the actress lives a luxurious life and reportedly charges Rs 2 crore per film. She is none other than Neena Gupta.
Neena Gupta came to Mumbai with her boyfriend with dreams of becoming an actress. As a struggling actor, she used to work at Prithvi cafe and used to make bharta there in exchange for free food. The actress told Etimes, "When I came to Mumbai, I used to make bharta at Prithvi cafe so that I get free dinner there. I had come here from Delhi with my boyfriend because I didn't have the guts to come alone. So my boyfriend would tell me, 'Sharam kar, tu Bombay naukrani banne aayi hai. Yeh karni aayi hai?' Woh cigerrette ke paise mujhse maangta tha aur main kaam karke dinner kamaa rahi hoon toh mujhe aise bol raha tha. (My boyfriend would tell me, 'Shame on you! Have you come to Mumbai to be a servant and cook meals?' He would ask money from me for his cigarettes and yet tell me that I should be ashamed of earning my dinner by working hard)." She also revealed in an interview that when she was in NSD, she used to mop the floors while learning acting.
The actress made her debut in 1982 with the movie Saath Saath but had a supporting role. The actress then went on to feature in films like Aadat Se Majboor, Gandhi, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Yalgar, Angaar, The Deceivers, Mirza Ghalib, In Custody, and Cotton Mary among others. These performances further established her profile in Indian movies alongside her arthouse film contemporaries Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, and Dimple Kapadia. Despite this, Gupta never had a major commercial hit and found it difficult to find more dramatic roles.
The actress said in an interview, "I made a few mistakes at the beginning of my career. I didn't have anybody to guide me. I didn't have a secretary. I didn't call up directors, or meet people asking for roles. Also, because of the media, there is a perception that I am a strong woman. Unfortunately, in our society, that goes against you. So, I got negative, vampish roles only. Plain and simple female roles never come my way because of my image, which is very wrong. My personal life got typecast into my professional life."
Later, the actress took to her Instagram and sought the job. The actress shared a post that read, "I live in Mumbai and working as a good actor looking for good parts to play. Just the other day I was telling someone how I am never afraid/ shy to ask for work. It's obviously genetic. My mother put up this post on her Instagram today. I mean, my 62-year-old national award-winning mother. She told me I must always work, no matter what. It keeps you from getting old.”
After this, the actress revealed getting multiple roles and said, "After that Instagram post, I got many offers, five, in fact, and I accepted all of them. There is no shame in saying you don't have work." One of the offers she accepted was Amit Sharma's comedy-drama Badhaai Ho, in which she starred alongside Gajraj Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Sanya Malhotra. The actress played the lead in the film and became a star. The movie was not only a critical but also a commercial success and won two National Awards. The actress now reportedly has a whopping net worth of Rs 75 crore and is often seen taking trips and sharing it with her fans on Instagram.
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 "Neena Gupta (Image: Instagram)")
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