Neena Gupta has received recognition as an actress with both exceptional talent and straightforward communication skills, but her recent public disclosures about her career experiences have generated buzz. Gupta explains in her 2021 autobiography, Sach Kahun Toh, and in subsequent interviews, a series of extremely distressing incidents that demonstrate the ongoing problems women experience within the Indian film industry.
Her most impressive performance emerges from her account of filming the legendary song “Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai” for Khalnayak (1993). The actress recalls how director Subhash Ghai instructed the costume designer to make her “appear fuller” by using a padded bra, a directive she described as both “humiliating” and “crass.” The incident made her feel strong emotions because it demonstrated how society often treats women in the entertainment industry.
Neena Gupta has also spoken about the verbal abuse she suffered at the hands of a director early in her career. She recounts being subjected to “obscene language” and derogatory “Ma-Behen ki gaali” on set. She endured the sexual harassment because she needed money, and there were no other job possibilities.
Another incident occurred when a well-known director made an inappropriate comment about her physical appearance after she rejected his sexual advances, which revealed the common predatory conduct that women deal with throughout their work.
Neena Gupta has shared her personal experiences of societal judgment, which she faced as a single mother in the 1980s, and how people viewed her until she married to gain societal approval.
