7 Times Neena Gupta Dropped Truth Bombs About Divorce

Neena Gupta is an actor and television director. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Woh Chokri. Her role in Badhaai Ho led to her winning the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress and receiving a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Gupta was the writer and director for the series Saans, which she also starred in. For her involvement in the series, she won the award for Best Director at the Kalakar Awards 1998. Gupta has also directed the successful TV series Siski and Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr.

During an exclusive conversation with SheThePeople about women and finances, Neena Gupta dropped the following truth bombs.

7 Truth Bombs Neena Gupta Dropped

1. “The society is not ready to see women who are earning.”

Society has fortified the belief that women should stay at home and leave having a career and making money for the men. If a woman does have the audacity to have a job and take her finances into her own hands, it is only acceptable is the job is part-time.

2. “When they earn, they become different, they actually will not take any shit from anybody.”

After women experience the financial stability and independence that comes with having a job, it becomes apparent that they do not have to follow the rigid rules set out for them.

No woman should have to adjust in a bad marriage. Credit: SheThePeople

3. “Everything is finance.”

Finance controls every aspect of a person’s life. Having a stable income changes the options that are available to women. Without a stable income, options and paths that can be taken are very limited.

4. “Family is very important, so you have to find a balance to have a family, as well as your career.”

In order to be happy, one cannot just focus on their career. It is imperative to have a personal life and being surrounded by friends and family that support you is a privilege that cannot be neglected.

5. “Yeh sab bolne se kuch nahi hota, ye sab karna padta hai.”/ Speaking does nothing, actions need to be taken.

Change only takes place through action. Speaking and making plans is very easy, but what matters is actually taking the necessary steps and taking action.

6. "Yes, I am a strong woman, there are many women like me, many, many women who are not known."

Too often we hail celebrities and actors as feminist icons and strong women, and forget to look at the people around us and acknowledge their strength. In that, we also fail to recognise our own strength as women.

7. "They should put their foot down for what they want because they are not secondary citizens, they are as important as the guys."

The only way change can take place is if women ask for what they deserve. Years of patriarchal conditioning and misogyny leads women to believe that their needs and wants are secondary. That is not true, everyone deserves to have their grievances acknowledged and taken into consideration.