Veteran actress Neena Gupta, who appeared in movies like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Mandi, Swarg, Khalnayak and more, made her powerful comeback in the 2018 film, Badhaai Ho. Neena has been vocal about her journey in the Hindi cinema so far. The 65-year-old actress recently won a National Award for playing a supporting role in Sooraj Barjatya’s 2022 film, Uunchai. Do you know that Neena agreed to do Barjatya’s directorial without going through its script?

During an interview with Pinkvilla in 2022, Neena Gupta shared her experience of bagging Rajshri Productions’ Uunchai and how she couldn’t miss the opportunity to work with Sooraj Barjatya.

 “Main toh shocked thi. Mujhe bulaya unhone apne office mein script sunane ke liye. Main soch rahi thi na bhi sunao tab bhi karungi (I was shocked. He called me to his office to narrate the script. I was thinking that even if I didn’t hear the narration, I would have done it),” Neena had said.

“Kyunki 30 saal se wait kar rahi thi, milne ki bhi sambhavna nahin hoti thi unse. Uske baad ye hua toh I was flying high (Because I was waiting for 30 years, there was no possibility of meeting him. Then this happened…)” she added.

Neena Gupta further expressed that she couldn’t meet eminent directors during the initial stage of her career. The Badhaai Ho actress revealed that she neither had contacts nor any godfathers in the industry.

Neena Gupta stated that it was a difficult task to meet the filmmakers back then. Neena praised Mandi director Shyam Benegal by saying that he would meet her as she was from the National School of Drama. While Benegal didn’t offer her any major role in his movies, he used to meet her, the actress added.

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Neena Gupta revealed her first reaction after winning the National Film Award for Uunchai. Neena shared that she asked her manager to “double-check” it after reading her name in the winners’ list.

Apart from Neena, the film, Uunchai featured an ensemble star cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, and Sarika.