29th June 2023,Mumbai: Neena Gupta has consistently been a steadfast supporter of speaking your mind. The Masaba Masaba actor, who is fearless and bold, frequently makes news for her uncensored thoughts. Even in the Lust Stories 2 teaser for her next Netflix anthology, her unconventional persona caught the attention of the general public. Neena Gupta has appeared in intimate moments in films before, but the actress recently opened up about her first on-screen kiss encounter, which caused her to gargle with Dettol.
Neena Gupta remembers working with the late actor Dilip Dhawan in the 1993 TV show Dillagi in an interview. Neena Gupta recalled her “first-ever lip-to-lip kissing scene” on national television and said she was extremely anxious before the shoot and failed to get some sleep the previous night.
Despite not being prepared for the kiss moment, the 64-year-old said she persuaded her to just ‘go through with it.’ “He wasn’t my friend; we were just acquaintances. He was handsome, but in these circumstances, looks don’t really matter because I wasn’t psychologically and physically prepared”, said Neena Gupta.
Neena Gupta revealed that she immediately rinsed her mouth with Dettol once the kissing sequence was over since it was so ‘difficult’ for her to pull off. “It’s similar to how some people can’t do humour or cry on television. I memorised it and executed it”, the actress recalled. Sadly, Neena Gupta’s ordeal was in vain because the specific sequence was cut from the television show later on. Besides Neena Gupta and Dilip Dhawan, Dillagi also starred Irrfan Khan, Kalpana Iyer, and Meenakshi Martins.
Neena Gupta will have a significant role in Lust Stories 2 on the professional front. Four renowned filmmakers—R Balki, Sujoy Ghosh, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Amit Ravindernath Sharma—direct the four-part anthology. The ensemble cast for this Netflix production includes Vijay Varma, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mrunal Thakur, Kajol, Kumud Mishra, Angad Bedi, and Tillotama Shome. Today, June 29, Lust Stories 2 is available for streaming.
On the job front, Neena Gupta has teamed up with director Najeem Koya for the upcoming web series 1000 Babies in the Malayalam language, which is anticipated to air on Disney+Hotstar.
-by Kashvi Gala