This is the 21st century, we all know that. But we still live in a society wherein, if a girl gets pregnant before her marriage, she will be subjected to a lot of hurls, gossips and commotion in the society. With the freedom to lead lives the way one wants to, admit it or not, societal pressure mostly becomes the barrier to lead a ‘free life’. Ditto us here? (Do Read: Deepika Padukone And Ranveer Singh On Their Wedding, Take A Dig At Media For All The Rumours)
There are a few women, who dared to live their life the way they wanted to, have a child, how and where the way they wished to. And one of the bravehearts is none other than, Veere Di Wedding actress, Neena Gupta. Way back in the late 80s, when carrying a child without marriage was a taboo, Neena Gupta broke free from all stereotypes and gave birth to her love-child (famous fashion designer Masaba Gupta) with West Indies former cricketer, Vivian Richards.
Looks like it is a throwback time for Neena, as the actress is portraying the role of a 40-year-old pregnant lady in her latest stint, Badhaai Ho! The film also stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Dangal fame, Sanya Malhotra in the lead. The story of the film goes something like this- A middle-class family from Delhi is happily staying together and has two grown-up children. Soon, the family gets to know of the mother’s pregnancy. Now what? In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Neena spoke about her real-life single-handed pregnancy. When asked if shooting for the film took her back to memory lane, she stated, “No, it didn’t bring any memories for me. My real pregnancy was very different, I was aloof and alone. It was nothing like this when the whole family, including the big boys, hover around my character. I didn’t flashback to my real pregnancy as that was a difficult time for me.”
Further speaking of the film, Neena stated, “Yes, the idea of an older woman getting pregnant, with me playing that part, really drew me to the script. It’s a topic of discussion today but was no big deal back when women were married off very early and could have a child till they were in their mid or late 40s, by which time the other children were much older. That’s still how it is in smaller towns. Shooting was great fun, we would all joke around and bonded like a family. When I returned to Mumbai, I texted all my co-actors saying I was missing them. Gajraj Raoji’s very cute and nice, and even Ayushmann (Khurrana) never made me feel like I was working with a big star.” (Also Checkout! Neena Gupta Found True Love At The Age Of 42, After A Roller Coaster Love Life)
In a throwback interview with The Times of India, Neena Gupta spoke at length about giving birth to a lovechild, way back in the late 80s. Citing the reason behind the same, the Khalnayak actress had stated, “Because I am known they say arey tumne kya kiya. But in India, there are so many poor women who are forced to be single mothers. The only difference with me was that I did it by choice. It was very tough and I wanted to do it, but I always tell people that it was a wrong decision, as it is very difficult to bring up a child alone. You make a child suffer due to your wish and whim. Child does not have that side of the family. Because I was working, I could not even get married and have a sibling for her. My friends told me don’t do this, but I was young and had the nasha, so did it. I feel it was very tough for me and I did my best.”
She had further stated, “But I had to do bad movies, as I needed the money to bring her up. I lost my mother to cancer, so once Masaba was born, my father moved from Old Delhi to live with me in Mumbai. He became the man of the house till he died five years back. He also was my anchor, even though initially, he was dead against my decision to go ahead with my pregnancy. Even though he was very orthodox, once he knew that I had decided, he stood by me like a rock. Masaba was jealous of him as he loved me more than her. It’s so strange that God has had his way of looking after me. I used to always think that God will give me a man when my father dies and that is what happened. As soon as I got married to my present husband Vivek, my father died.” (Don't Miss! Aayush Sharma Reveals Only His Son Ahil Can Dare To Wake Salman Khan Up From His Sleep)
This is such an inspiring story? Are you excited to see Neena Gupta in her pregnant avatar in her upcoming film? Let us know in the comments section below.