The great actress Neena Gupta, known for hit films like Badhaai Ho and Panchayat, faced many struggles in her life when she was young.
Neena and Vivian Richards met in Jaipur when she was shooting for a film with co-star Vinod Khanna. The Queen of Jaipur invited the film’s cast and the West Indies cricket team for dinner, where Neena and Vivian felt an instant attraction.
After some time, Neena became pregnant with Masaba Gupta. She called Vivian and asked him, “If you don’t want this child, I won’t have it.” He responded, “No, no, I would love for you to have this child.” Neena came from an orthodox family, and most of her family did not support her decision to keep the baby, especially since Vivian was already married and couldn’t marry Neena. However, her father stood by her.
Neena was open with her daughter Masaba from the very beginning, telling her that Vivian was her father and never kept this a secret. She raised her daughter single-handedly while also managing her career. Neena and Vivian stayed in touch on and off over the years.
Masaba and Vivian weren’t in contact until Masaba turned 20. As she was growing up, Masaba felt hurt by this distance, but Neena would explain to her that Vivian wasn’t a family man and that he struggled to express his emotions.
In 2008, at the age of 42, Neena found love again and married Vivek Mehra, a Delhi-based chartered accountant. Despite this, her relationship with Sir Vivian Richards remains an important part of her life story.
Today, Neena continues to thrive in her acting career, most recently appearing in the films Goodbye and Uunchai, where she stars alongside Amitabh Bachchan and other notable actors. Her journey, filled with ups and downs, is an inspiring tale of courage, resilience, and self-acceptance.
