Gupta said is known for always known for being one of the most honest people, apart from being such a great actress. While her talent remains unmatched, Gupta’s social media videos and the points she puts across, wins hearts. Neena has also always been very open about her own life and journey. Here’s recalling the time when during a chat with ETimes, during the release of her film ‘To stay in my mind‘, Neena had spoken about her early days in Mumbai.Neena had come here with her boyfriend and used to cook at Prithvi Cafe to earn her living, before she could make it as an actor.
The ‘Badhaai Ho’ actor had come to Mumbai in 1981 with her then boyfriend. She said during a chat with us, “I told everyone,paisa maangne mein sharam hai, kaam maangne mein sharam nahi hai mujhe(I’m not asking people for money, I’m asking people for work and I’m not embarrassed about that). When I came to Mumbai, I used to makebhartaat 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.”
She further added, “So my boyfriend would tell me, 'Sharam kar, tu Bombay naukrani banne aayi hai. Yeh karni aayi hai?' He asked me for cigarette money and kept earning dinner like this. (My boyfriend would tell me, 'Shame on you! Have you come to Mumbai to be a servant and cook meals?' ask money from me for his cigarettes and yet tell me that I should be ashamed of earning my dinner by working hard).”
Of course, the actress feels grateful about the fact that she didn’t marry him.
Neena however, had no qualms about doing any kind of work and didn’t consider any work small. That came as a training from National School Of Drama (NSD). “I think I was also okay to do any kind of work at NSD. We used to do everything – right from sweeping the floor to everything. At my place while growing up also, my mother was a Gandhian. We didn’t have a servant. We used to do everything at home ourselves. I’m not shy to do any kind of work.”
The actress recently won a National Award for her performance in Sooraj Barjatya‘s ‘Uunchai’.