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After 30 years, actress Neena Gupta has once again been honoured with a National Award. It was announced at the 70th National Awards on Friday, August 16 that she will be awarded the Best Supporting Actress for her role as Shabina Siddiqui in the 2022 film ‘Ounchai’.
In a follow-up conversation, when asked if she still craves such prestigious awards, Gupta responds, “Everyone desires recognition and awards. When you don’t receive one, it’s natural to feel disappointed for a time. However, I remind myself to stay focused and keep working hard, believing that eventually, I’ll earn it. But being recognised for one’s work feels nice).
This is Gupta’s third National Award. Her first National Film Award was in 1993 for Bazaar Sitaram, which won her the National Film Award for Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director, and the second National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress was in 1994 for Woh Chhokri.
Also Read: Happy Birthday Neena Gupta: Masaba shares 7 beautiful pictures of her ‘best’ mom
Gupta asks, “What do you work for?” and then replies, “You work so that people appreciate you, otherwise why would you work so hard. I don’t want to do drama in my drawing room; I want more and more people to see me and appreciate me. This award makes me feel good that ‘okay, keep working hard, if not today then tomorrow you will get the reward’. It keeps encouraging me to keep doing good work.”
Unlike many actors who shower praises on receiving awards, Gupta has dedicated this win to herself. She explains the reason behind it. “Every job these days has its ups and downs. There is a lot of competition, a lot of hurdles and sometimes you feel disappointed. Sometimes your film doesn’t release and you feel very disappointed and sad, then you just have to tell yourself that ‘okay forget it. I will keep doing my work. Someday someone will recognise me.’ So it is me and only me who has to go through all this,” she says.
An alumnus of the National School of Drama, New Delhi, Gupta recalls an important lesson from her student days that continues to inspire her even today. “We used to do a play in NSD and there was a dialogue in it, ‘Har koi apne toothache khud hi toh sahoon hi toh karna padega’. The other person can just sit with you, but you have to bear the pain. So I think that kind of perseverance, where I kept moving forward even when things weren’t going well and kept at it, was all me. I have had a lot of support from people around me, but ultimately it was me who didn’t bow down to failure,” she concludes.
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