Neena Gupta to play any role

Friday, October 12, 2007

Neena Gupta, playing the popular Manno Bhabhi in serial "Saat Phere", will soon be seen in a comic role after a long time. She would play Sush, a landlady who holds the desire to play Umrao Jaan on the big screen, in a new serial titled "Jigar Ma Badi Aag Hai" on the Filmy channel. Since Sush couldn't manage to rob the role from Rekha, she is quite irked with the veteran actress.

Neena is extremely happy with her role, as are others who are associated with the serial. She feels fortunate that she is still getting varied roles in the industry. The actress says: "I am not a very big artiste. But I am glad that I am getting good roles both on the small and big screens.

Known for her affinity for serious roles, Neena has previously done comedy serials like "Sriman Srimati" and a few other such programmes. However, it was the pairing of Neena with Kanwaljeet in "Saans" that took Indian television by storm. Perhaps, that's why the makers of "Jigar Ma Badi Aag Hai" are attempting to revive the magic by casting the duo. Neena refutes the speculations. "There is nothing of this sort. I didn't even know that Kanwaljeet is going to be cast opposite me. But it's good that the audience like our pairing."

Neena is amongst those talented artistes in the industry who didn't make it too big but have always received overwhelming love from the audience. And this is a fact even Neena agrees to. The gifted actress has left a mark both in art and commercial cinema.

Sadly, though both kinds of cinema are doing well these days, there aren't roles suitable for Neena. The actress also rues about this but she has no regrets whatsoever. "I am an artiste. I will do whatever kind of role comes my way. I can't demand that roles be written according to my tastes. I am happy with my work as of now."

Besides television, Neena also has a few films on hand, one of them being Satish Kaushik's "Tere Sang" and telefilm "Hello Zindagi". The latter also stars Kanwajeet in the lead.

Besides acting, Neena has also produced a few shows, including "Saans". But as of now, there is a stop on production. "The reason is that I can't concentrate on two things at one time. So I am leaning more on acting.