Did it out of compulsion: Neena Gupta on marrying Vivek Mehra

Actor Neena Gupta reveals in what way societal pressure shaped her decision to marry Vivek Mehra, and has a surprising take on love

Actor Neena Gupta has made a startling admission: she married chartered accountant Vivek Mehra out of “compulsion”. In a recent conversation with Shubhankar Mishra, the veteran star was asked a simple question -- did she marry for love? Her answer was anything but simple.

Laughing lightly, Gupta replied, “This is a very difficult question.” She went on to add, “I don’t understand love. I only understand the love I have for my child. I don’t understand anything else.” The candour didn’t stop there. When pressed on why she married Mehra, she said she “needed him a lot”, admitting that surviving in society sometimes means playing by its rules. “Whenever I used to go somewhere, people looked at me a certain way. But the moment you get married, everything gets sorted. It is a very sad thing to say.”

Gupta’s comments reflect the intense scrutiny she faced as a single mother in the 1980s and 1990s. She raised her daughter, fashion designer Masaba Gupta, largely on her own after her relationship with former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards. At a time when single motherhood was far less accepted in India, Gupta often spoke about being judged and socially isolated.

Her marriage to Mehra in 2008, she suggests, brought a sense of societal acceptance -- something she says she learned “the hard way”.

Before marrying, Gupta had already carved a formidable career in film and television. From critically acclaimed performances in art-house cinema to popular TV shows, she was known for choosing unconventional roles -- much like her personal life. Her autobiography, Sach Kahun Toh, further detailed the emotional and professional challenges she endured as a single parent in the public eye.

Far from slowing down, Gupta continues to reinvent herself. After her career resurgence with Badhaai Ho, she has taken on a mix of streaming projects and films, like Panchaayat and Vadh 2. From critically acclaimed performances in art-house films like Trikaal to popular TV shows like Khandaan. tn an age when many actors are sidelined, she remains firmly in the spotlight -- on her own terms.