Bollywood

Neena Gupta Reveals She Lost A Role To ‘Panchayat’ Actress, Sunita Rajwar, ‘A Bit Of Jealousy…’ Deets Inside!

By Shivani Ujjainwal

May 31, 2024

Neena Gupta recently disclosed that she auditioned for a project and that she gets jealous when her friends or peers land a role. Her role in the well-known comedy-drama Panchayat as “Manju Devi,” the “Pradhan of Phulera,” has especially propelled her to stardom. Neena Gupta is currently enjoying the success of the most recent season of the show. 

Neena Gupta shares that she and her good friend, Sunita Rajwar were approached for the same role

Neena Gupta recently revealed that, despite being friends with many actors, she gets jealous when she loses out on a role to someone else. The actress, speaking with India Today, talked about one such instance in which a young director approached her and her close friend Sunita Rajwar, who portrays “Kranti Devi” in Panchayat. Neena Gupta continued, offering her observations on the event:

“I kept wondering why she would reach out to both of us if she didn’t want to cast me. Sunita and I are very good friends but we look so different from each other, so how can one approach both of us for the same role? There are no similarities.”

Neena Gupta mentions she feels jealous when she doesn’t get a role

Continuing on her train of thought, the 64-year-old actress revealed that she gets jealous when her friends or peers land a role she is interested in. Neena Gupta did note, though, that she accepts these losses with a positive attitude. According to her words:  “There is a bit of jealousy. I feel jealous when my friends or contemporaries bag apart, and I don’t, but I also take it in a good spirit.”

When Neena Gupta revealed that earlier she used to take up any role

In a previous interview, Neena Gupta discussed her past with News18 Showsha and disclosed that, at the time, she needed money and would take any role. In addition, the actress said she would fervently pray to God to prevent those films from being released in theatres. In her words: 

“Need ke hisaab se it (the choice of script) has changed. Pehle zarurat thi paise ki zyada toh paise ke liye bahaut bure bure kaam karne padte the. Kai baar mai bhagwan se prarthna karti thi ki yeh picture release hi na ho. Ab mai na keh sakti hoon, pehle kabhi na nahi keh sakti thi. Jo script mujhe bahut achi lagti hai, role bahut acha lagta hai woh haan karti hoon aur jo nahin acha lagta woh nahin karti hoon.”

Neena Gupta’s remuneration for Panchayat 3

Neena Gupta charges about Rs. 50,000 for each episode, per a Moneycontrol report. With eight episodes in the most recent season of the comedy-drama on Amazon Prime, Panchayat, the 64-year-old actress’s total fees for this season come to Rs. 4 lakh.