Masaba Gupta says she wanted to be an actor since she was 14 but mom Neena Gupta ‘dissuaded’ her

Designer Masaba Gupta, who is making her acting debut with the Netflix series Masaba Masaba, said that she wanted to be an actor since the age of 14. However, she was ‘dissuaded’ by her mother, veteran actor Neena Gupta.

In an interview with Mid-Day, Masaba said that she was interested in a career in the arc lights but Neena was not too keen on it. “I wanted to act since I was 14, but I was dissuaded by my mother for various reasons. She told me I would be stereotyped. Back then, I wanted to be an actor for the sake of vanity. I wanted to have people fussing over me in the make-up van,” she said.

Masaba said that she feels ‘no compulsion to act’ as her primary source of livelihood was designing. “I will act because I enjoy it. My business puts food on the table, so there is no compulsion to act,” she said.

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Masaba Masaba, which also features Neena, is a fictionalised account of Masaba’s life. It will give a glimpse of her different worlds, including family, fashion and dating.

In a statement, Masaba opened up about sharing screen space with Neena in the show. “Mom and I are playing fictionalised characters of ourselves in Masaba Masaba. The series is a slice of our lives and reliving key moments even though fictionalised, took me down memory lane. Sharing screen space with mom was quite an experience,” she said.

“The series is packed with a combination of laughter, tears, struggles and inspiration that I’m hoping will resonate with women around the globe. I’m a huge fan of Netflix and its storytelling and couldn’t be more excited to make my debut with such a strong creative partner,” she added.

Directed by Sonam Nair, Masaba Masaba is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 28.

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