The mother-daughter pair of Neena and Masaba Gupta will share screen space in Masaba Masaba. The series that shows the two playing fictionalised versions of themselves but one that draws vignettes from their lives, streams on Netflix this Friday. Over a Zoom call, we caught up for a chat on what made them say ‘yes’ to Masaba Masaba and why Neena feels that Masaba, in her acting debut, is a ‘natural’.

The trailer of Masaba Masaba is good fun and I’ve watched a few episodes too. What are people looking forward to the most when the show drops this Friday?

Neena Gupta: Friends, family and neighbours are telling me two things. First, they identify a lot with the mother-daughter scene (in which the two bicker) in the trailer and second, most are telling me, ‘Masaba badi natural hain’. I was very surprised with the fact that she can act so well. See, I knew that common sense hain ladki mein toh bahut bura nahin karegi (both laugh), and in my scenes with her, I had realised that she was very good. But when I watched all the episodes, I was in shock! I never expected ki itna achha karegi. Haala ki mujhe bolna nahin chahiye, logon ko bolna chahiye.

Masaba Gupta: I did surprise myself too. The thing is that I am supremely critical of myself. I am not somebody who keeps thinking, ‘Arre, maine toh itna achha kiya hain’. If I do a bad collection, I do say it’s bad. So I was surprised that people actually commented on my acting in the trailer. I expected most to say, ‘You are playing yourself. So what’s the big deal?!’ But then I think they also realised that it’s as hard or as easy to play yourself. When the reactions came in, I was very shocked. Of course, now when

I look back, I think of a lot of scenes where I could have done better. But that’s good... I don’t want to feel that I have accomplished a lot with just this one acting outing, there is such a long way to go. The true test will be after this, I think.

Neena: They call it ‘second episode blues’. In any series, the pilot is always up there, but everything depends on the second episode. Yeh toh achha gaya hain, ab aagey dekhte hain.

Masaba, what was your reaction when you were approached for a novel format like this?

Masaba: The series came to me at a time when I was feeling pretty low in life... about work and other things. I think what Ashvini (Yardi, producer) was saying didn’t register with me for a long time. I thought she was pitching a reality show. And I told her, ‘This idea of a camera following me and my mother 24x7 is not my idea of fun’. But then she told me it’s a scripted show and that we would both play fictionalised versions of ourselves.

So I was excited because it was a new concept, but I was equally nervous because this is a genre we don’t have a reference for. But I was just so excited by the idea that I would get to act (laughs). Earlier, I would always be so ashamed to say that I wanted to be an actor. And I am so happy that I am being able to say it right now... that I really, really wanted to become an actor. So when this came my way, I looked at it as an opportunity, thinking, ‘It’s unchartered territory, but we will take care
of it’.

Neena: When Masaba told me about this, I was very confused... I had no idea what she was going to do (laughs) I also kept thinking, ‘Kaise banayenge? Kya daalenge, kya nahin daalenge?’ But then me and Masaba, Sonam (Nair, director) and the writers sat together many times, we talked about our lives.... Then when they showed me the script,

I was very impressed. Before the trailer came out, people would ask me, ‘Kya documentary bana rahein hain Masaba ke upar?’ If the writing wasn’t this good, I feel it could have backfired. The thing is that this show hasn’t been made to promote Masaba, nor is it a show where she is being praised.

A lot from your own lives, whether it’s failed relationships or female actors above a certain age not being able to land parts in Bollywood, find their place on the show. How did you walk the tightrope between putting yourselves out there and yet not making your lives a totally open book?

Neena: We told them a lot about ourselves, that is whatever we wanted to tell them (laughs). And they did a good job of the script. Also, I enjoyed watching the show. Mera kaam itna nahin hain jitna baaki logon ka hain, lekin bahut achha bana hain.

Masaba: I always feel apprehensive that when you are doing something that has both fact and fiction, then it’s sometimes pretty easy to feel disconnected... the feeling that you are being pulled out and pulled into moments. For us, it was important that it becomes one continuous flow. So there were times when we felt that there are characters inspired from those in my life, but this person has to have one more quirk or one more aspect, or that we need to explore and see why this person is behaving like this. So we gave a backstory to each character so that they seemed credible and the viewer would be invested in their story.

What you will see between me and my mum on the show... there’s a lot that’s happened, there’s a lot that hasn’t happened.... But what was important for me was that what hasn’t happened had to be shown in the voice of stuff that has happened. So what the show will make you feel is that you are getting a peek into seeing someone behave the way they behave.

Neena: We also thought about the fact that a lot of people who will tune in from all over the world may not know who Masaba is. Uska personal life, uska professional life... shaayad bahut kuch log nahin jaante. On my Instagram, a lot of people ask me, ‘Yeh Masaba kaun hain?’ So it’s the story of a girl whose name is Masaba and who is a fashion designer.

Did the inherent chemistry make it easier to do scenes together?

Masaba: The inherent chemistry was both the easy and the tough part, as well as the fact that your co-actor is also your parent (laughs). There were moments when I would be scared to enact a scene or if there was a long dialogue, I would be scared in the moments leading up to that scene. But then there was also the feeling that this is my very critical mother who will tell me if I am doing a scene badly. I won’t lie that this has been a soft landing for me. It’s such a new area for me and having your mother, who is also a celebrated actor, on set helped. I think I just had to get rid of that, ‘Oh my God! Mummy-will-shout-at-me vibe!’ (Laughs) I was fine after that.

Masaba, will this mean a parallel career in acting?

Neena: From what I have seen so far, why not? She definitely should. She’s a very good dancer and singer and I want her to explore that too.

Masaba: Arre, what all should I do?! (Laughs) I think the itch to become an actor started when I was 14, when people told me I couldn’t become an actor. I was told, ‘Your nose is too big and you don’t look like you are from India’. I think that itch has just become stronger.

Again, I am not going to put pressure on myself, but if I hear that someone is making something that I can fit into, I will call up that person and ask for work... I have no problem doing that. But I don’t want to abandon my first love, which is fashion. My label is 11 years old this year and that is my first baby and will always be my priority. But I enjoy doing many things and I don’t want to limit myself.

Which actor/ actress would you pick to play a fictionalised version of themselves? Tell t2@abp.in