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Actor-designer Masaba Gupta said that acting was “never the option” for her, as her mother Neena Gupta was of the firm belief that the film industry swears by conventional beauty standards, and it would be difficult for her to make a place for herself as a mainstream Hindi film heroine. Masaba, who later made her screen debut with the Netflix series Masaba Masaba, said her mother had categorically told her that acting wasn’t “on the cards” for her.
“She said that the industry in India has always functioned a certain way, and there are certain faces people associate with that of an actor. She said, ‘You will always be considered a bit out of the box, too artsy, that probably get vamp roles, the seductress’. She said if you want to be a mainstream Hindi film heroine, it won’t happen, so I should let it go,” Masaba told Faye D’Souza.
Masaba said that in hindsight, this was great advice, as parents can easily be overly supportive of what their child wants to do, without being realistic about the problems they could face. “I had decided that I didn’t want to be a supporting cast, I like to be front and centre. She said this can be very frustrating as as an actor,” she added.
Masaba also opened up about the body shaming she faces on a regular basis, including being told that she has skin like late actor Om Puri, because of her acne scars. The actor-designer recalled shooting a video for Instagram and deciding not to put any filter on it, which led to her receiving unsavoury comments. “It is a skin tint I am showing people, and if I put a filter, my face will look kind of blurred. Someone said, ‘But what are you doing with a makeup brand, you have skin like Om Puri.’ What business does anyone have to talk about anything except Om Puri’s acting talent? Sometimes, all that people see is textured skin or acne scars on you. Which is why I have to keep doing more, being more successful. That’s my fight. Hopefully, 10 years later, someone will say they could see beyond my scars,” she added.
Apart from two seasons of Masaba Masaba, the actor-designer was also seen in the Prime Video anthology Modern Love Mumbai.
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