"You're finished...": Neena Gupta recalls Girish Karnad telling her she'd never get 'heroine roles' after debut film 'Saath Saath'

Actor Neena Gupta's journey to success wasn't exactly a smooth ride. Though she began her career in 1982 at a very young age, it wasn't until her breakthrough role in 2018 rom-com 'Badhaai Ho' that things really took off for her.

Today, Neena is one of the most respected actors in the industry, but getting there was full of challenges and setbacks. The 'Panchayat' actor recently reflected on her early years and spoke about one decision that she feels changed the course of her career.




In an interview with ANI, Neena admitted that doing the 1982 film 'Saath Saath' turned out to be the "biggest disaster" of her career. In the film, she played a supporting role of a young, bespectacled, "know-it-all" girl. Although the role became popular and was loved by moviebuffs, the actress feels it put her into a fixed image, which led filmmakers to stop seeing her as a "leading heroine."




The actress shared that when the film did well at the Box Office, she felt she had "arrived," until actor-director Girish Karnad, at the film's premiere party, told her that she would not be offered lead roles after this film. "The biggest mistake I made was doing Saath Saath. I played the role of a 'lallu ladki' (a silly, know-it-all girl). The film became such a big hit, I thought I had arrived. There was a party for the premiere, and Girish Karnad, who knew me from NSD, came up to me. He told me, 'Now you're finished. You'll never get a heroine role.' And that's exactly what happened," she recalled.

Neena also shared advice for young actors, especially girls who aspire to become lead heroines, warning that comedy roles early in a career can sometimes limit how the industry perceives you later on. "Any girl who wants to become a heroine should avoid comedy films at the start of her career. Once you do that, people can't imagine you as a heroine anymore. I was offered at least eight such roles. Mehmood was so good-looking, handsome, and a great actor, but did he ever get a hero's role?" she said.

Meanwhile, the actress will next be seen in the film 'Vadh 2' alongside Sanjay Mishra. The cast also includes Kumud Mishra, Akshay Dogra, Amitt K Singh, Shilpa Shukla, and Yogita Bihani. The film is written and directed by Jaspal Singh Sandhu and produced by Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg's Luv Films. Vadh 2 is set to release in theatres on February 6, 2026. Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”