It's been more than three decades since veteran actress Neena Gupta has been working in the industry. While the actress has worked with many well-known actors from Bollywood, the one person she hadn't had the chance to work with is Megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Now, in 39years of her career, for the very first time, the Badhai Ho actress has been paired opposite the Pink actor. Vikas Bahl’s upcoming directorial Goodbye will have Neena Gupta play Amitabh Bachchan’s wife which is touted to be a slice-of-life film centered around a funeral that also stars Telugu star Rashmika Mandanna.
Speaking about working with Amitabh Bachchan for the very first time Neena says gleefully," I am very excited to work with Mr. Bachchan. I have shot for only five-six days in Bombay, but then the lockdown happened so I had to return home." The actress also reveals that she finds Bachchan intimidating she says, "I haven't started my scenes with him yet, but I am very intimidated by him." Further adding, "It's like when we are waiting for the short, he would be sitting in a corner and I would wonder should I go close to him, talk to him or no. Should I ask him something or not? It's actually quite a thing and I think slowly things will be fine for all of us."
Neena Gupta who shot for few days shares an interesting incident from the sets of Goodbye, "One day I thought why can't I sit with Mr. Bachchan, the other actors are sitting with him and talking. So then I gathered some courage and went and sat next to him but then he got busy on his phone, so I silently sat out there," she laughs. "The thing is it's we, who think that Bachchan will be like this or that, but he is a normal person and I am very happy that I will be working with him," she quips.
The 62-year-old actress who has been working for years now still remains to be the same, happy, quirky, and upfront. However, some feel that she has changed. "Sometimes my school and college mates used to tell me, 'abhi yeh star hogai hain, iska dimag kharab hogaya hain'. Actually 'unka dimaag kharab hain' because they think I am not the same but I am, I haven't changed," she asserts.
Apart from Goodbye, Neena Gupta will next be seen in Sardar Ka Grandson which releases on 18th May on Netflix. She also plays a pivotal role in Ranveer Singh's '83 directed by Kabir Singh.
Image source: SpotboyE archive