Neena Gupta’s reply to people who body-shame her: ‘Tell them I am pregnant’

Veteran actor Neena Gupta has never been one to mince words when it comes to shutting down unsolicited personal questions, and her latest revelation about handling nosy relatives and body-shaming comments is proof of that.

Asked about how she responds when people casually pry into someone’s marital status with the classic “When are you getting married?” question during a CNN-News18 interaction, Gupta revealed her go-to comeback. “Tumhare baap ka nahi khati (I am not dependent on you). What’s your problem? Did you get married or not?” she said, making clear she has little patience for people who feel entitled to weigh in on others’ personal choices.

Neena Gupta was equally sharp when it came to handling comments about her weight. Recalling an incident where people questioned whether she had put on weight, she explained how a simple wardrobe mishap spiralled into unwanted scrutiny. “I was wearing a saree earlier, and I adjusted it here like this, and it got a bit bulky around here, near my waist. People were like, ‘At my age, 60, am I pregnant?'” she recalled. She said she then told her team to say she was indeed pregnant.

Also Read: Days after Kriti Sanon clothing controversy, Neena Gupta says ‘society is not going to change’

Rather than let the comment bother her, Gupta turned it into advice for others dealing with similar body-shaming. “So I advise people around me, tell them you’re pregnant if they bodyshame you,” she said.

On policing around women’s outfits

Earlier, while discussing attitudes toward women’s dressing, Neena Gupta pointed out that in there many neighbourhoods located in Delhi that women are still expected to cover their faces with a veil. She told NDTV, “I think it’s going to stay like this. It is not going to change. Not at all. Mark my words. Because society is such. Even today, nothing has really changed. Whatever has changed, it has changed only by a few percentage points. What has changed is that women have started earning.”

About the web series

Neena Gupta’s upcoming comedy-drama series, Chumbak, follows the story of five families in an Urban Indian neighbourhood. The cast includes Deven Bhojani, Arjun Bijlani, Helly Shah, Sumeet Vyas, Manasi Parekh, Sumeet Raghvan, Sandeepa Dhar, Delnaaz Irani, Anant V. Joshi, and Amyra Dastur  The series comes from Hats Off Production, the banner behind popular comedies such as Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Khichdi. It is written and directed by Aatish Kapadia and produced by Jamnadas (JD) Majethia and Kapadia.