‘Television gave me a new lease of life’

Neena Gupta, who was a part of the avant-garde movement — also known as the parallel movement — in Indian cinema, says she has never been in a better place as an actor. She feels television gave her a new lease of life.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Kundan Shah spearheaded the parallel movement in Hindi cinema, the plum roles in all the prestigious realistic films went to Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Neena was left with the leftovers.

“There was nothing for me then. The actor in me would have died if television had not come along,” Neena said.

Dry zone

Directing and acting in the serial Saans, which was about an extramarital affair way back in 1998, gave a new boost to Neena’s career. But as far as cinema is concerned, she has always been in a dry zone.

Just last year, Neena posted a message on social media, asking for “good parts to play”.

“I think that really worked for me. I am doing a whole lot of work. I am in the Kareena-Sonam Kapoor-starrer Veere Di Wedding. I also have interesting roles in Nikkhil Advani’s Mulk and Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar,” Neena said.

But the film she is most looking forward to is chef-philanthropist Vikas Khanna’s The Last Colour, a film that focuses on the plight of widows in the holy city of Varanasi.

“I don’t know what prompted Vikas to make this film. He does so many things besides cooking. Now after proving himself a master chef, he has  proven himself a master filmmaker,” she said. —IANS