Neena Gupta will share screen space with her frequent collaborator Anupam Kher in Anurag Basu's Metro... In Dino. The former classmates at Delhi's National School of Drama (NSD) during the '70s have earlier worked in several films together.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Neena Gupta talks about the casting process of senior actors in Bollywood and whether she finds Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali's pair in the original Metro, that is 2007's Life in a... Metro, a competition for her and Anupam Kher's on-screen couple in its upcoming follow-up.
Neena Gupta On Dharmendra-Nafisa Ali's Pairing In Life in a... Metro
In Anurag Basu's 2007 film Life in a... Metro, Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali played a senior citizen couple. The novelty of the pairing and the intimate scene between the film veterans generated a lot of buzz at the time.
Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher also play an elderly couple in Metro... In Dino, also directed by Anurag Basu. When asked if she sees the Dharmendra-Nafisa Ali pairing as a big competition to that of her and Anupam Kher's in the new film, a smiling Neena Gupta at first said, "I don't, I don't."
"I would like to work with Dharamji one day. I actually worked opposite him in a film long ago. I can't remember the name right now. But the saleability of stars doesn't apply to us. Woh hero-heroine ke liye hota hai (That works for the lead pair). The director has a vision. They envision the characters visually. If we fit into that, they cast us," Neena Gupta further told NDTV.
The Panchayat star's remarks could be seen in the context of a 2019 tweet which pitched senior actors should play elderly characters in the film. The conversation started after Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu played both the young and the elderly versions of the two sharpshooters in Tushar Hiranandani's Saand Ki Aankh. Based on the story of real-life sharpshooters Chandro Tomar and Prakashi Tomar, the film triggered a discussion about ageism and casting actors according to their age in movies.
The post read, "I love Bhumi and Taapsee but I kinda wish older actors were cast in these roles. Could you imagine Neena Gupta and Shabana Azmi or Jaya Bachchan? #SaandKiAankh"
In her response, Neena Gupta at the time wrote, "Yes, I was just thinking about this. Hamari umar ke role toh kam se kam humse kara lo bhai..."
Yes i was just thinking about this hamari umar ke role toe kamsekam humse kara lo bhai https://t.co/6Fmrxn0HbE
— Neena Gupta (@Neenagupta001) September 24, 2019
Neena Gupta On Collaborating With Anupam Kher In Metro... In Dino
Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher were last seen in Shiv Shastri Balboa (2023). They have also worked in films such as Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Utsav (1994), Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin (2004), and Uunchai (2022).
Reflecting on their decades-old bond, Neena Gupta told NDTV, "Jab do good actors ek saath kaam karte hain na, chemistry ban hi jaati hai (When two good actors work together, chemistry happens naturally). I don't know why Anurag cast me or Anupam. But I wanted to work with Anurag for so long. And Anupam ko main itni achhi tarah jaanti hoon (I know him so well), we have done 24 shows in America. We were there for one-and-half months. We know each other's moods, habits and everything."
"Agar actor naya bhi ho na, mujhe kaam karne mein koi problem nahi hota (Even if the actor is new, I don't feel any difficulty in working with them)" she added.
Neena Gupta was last seen in the Amazon Prime original series Panchayat season 4. Speaking of Anurag Basu's Metro In Dino, the film boasts of an ensemble cast also featuring Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Konkona Sen Sharma.
The film will be released in theatres on July 4.
