Neena Gupta discouraged Masaba Gupta from acting as she 'didn't look like' a Hindi film heroine: 'Your face is...'

Before she became a fashion designer, Masaba Gupta harboured the dream of being a Bollywood heroine, reveals Neena Gupta.

Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta and cricket legend Viv Richards, has made a name for herself as one of the leading fashion designers of India. But after establishing herself in the world of fashion, Masaba dabbled in acting as well, starring in Masaba Masaba. But Neena reveals that her daughter was keen on being the traditional Hindi film heroine when she was young, only to be given a reality check.

Neena Gupta on Masaba's acting dreams

Neena Gupta with daughter Masaba Gupta.

In a recent interview with ANI, Neena recalled how early on, Masaba wanted to act and become a leading actor in Bollywood films. “It was not her decision. It just happened. Circumstances were like that," she said, saying that Masaba was influenced by ‘everyone around her’ wanting to do the same. But the veteran actor said she discouraged her. “I told her, look, your face is like this, your body is like this. You won't get the heroine of a Hindi film because you don't look like that. It's a fact. You don't look like the heroine of a Hindi film of that time,” she said.

Neena eventually encouraged Masaba to get acting training and consider character roles. The fashion designer made her acting debut in the Netflix show Masaba Masaba, where she played a fictionalised version of herself. The show also starred Neena as her mother. "I cried when I saw her work. She is such a good actor. She's very natural. I was shocked. She was like a pro,” Neena said on Masaba’s acting talent.

Neena and Masaba's recent work