Veteran Bollywood actress and feminist icon, Neena Gupta has navigated a challenging past to forge a life on her own terms, alongside her daughter, Masaba. The actress, often celebrated for her candour and resilience, recently shared an emotional chapter of her life – when she was penniless and was kicked out with no place to go with baby Masaba.
Recently, in a candid conversation with Housing.com, Neena Gupta recalled being homeless with her daughter, Masaba after being kicked out of her aunt’s house in the middle of the night. It was during the early 1980s when Neena had just sold her apartment to fund a new 3-BHK flat in Mumbai but was left without a place to stay during the transition. Believing in her family, she temporarily moved in with her aunt and uncle. However, what seemed like a safe haven turned into a nightmare when her aunt unexpectedly asked her to leave. The Badhaai Ho actress recalled:
“I shifted to my aunt’s house where I had stayed before. I thought, ‘I stay there so much of the time and I just come back to my house to sleep’. Since Masaba was little then, my aunt used to help in looking after the baby… But one day, she threw me out in the middle of the night, she kicked me out. I had no money left. There was this one night where I had nowhere to go with a baby.”
Neena shared how she had informed her aunt and uncle about her living conditions, and that she would have no place to stay for a while. They had agreed at that time. After throwing her out, her uncle had a change of heart and allowed her to stay in an unused flat in Juhu, but it was again short-lived. Neena shared:
“Before shifting with them, I had already told both of them that I am now going to be without a house so are you okay with me moving in? They said yes then. Now uncle felt very bad so he shifted me to his mother-in-law’s house in Juhu which had been shut for 20 years. There were cobwebs in the house, it looked rusty. I went there and I cleaned that house with a small baby. But soon, I was asked to leave that house as well".
Desperate and with no other options, Neena turned to the builder she had paid for her new flat. She requested her money back, explaining her situation. Thankfully, the builder was kind enough to understand and refunded her the full amount without deducting a penny. Neena was quoted saying:
“I asked him if it was possible to get my money back, I don’t want that house. He gave me money back, didn’t even deduct a penny.”
With the refunded money, Neena purchased a house in Aram Nagar, where she finally found stability for herself and Masaba. Neena had Masaba with West Indian cricketer, Vivian Richards out of wedlock, and raised her alone. In 2008, Neena married Delhi-based Chartered Accountant, Vivek Mishra at the age of 49.
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What do you think about Neena Gupta’s struggle as a new mother with no place to live?
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