Masaba Gupta on Masaba Masaba Season 2: ‘Acting is like a catalyst for me to be a better designer’

Neena and Masaba Gupta are like a breath of fresh air and equally interesting are their lives. Every bit of the _Masaba Masaba_ is true and as Neena Gupta rightly puts it, “I am like a typical mother who is on the lookout for a prospective son-in-law for my daughter." In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost, they open up about their relationship, choices that they have made in life and Masaba’s journey both in the entertainment and fashion industry.

Excerpts from the interview:

On being a part of Masaba Masaba…

Neena: This show is about Masaba and what happens in her life. I am her mother and I just happen to be there. There are glimpses of our relationship because if you are talking about people in her life then obviously the most important would be the mother and father. So that way I became an important part of Masaba Masaba Season2. It shows a very normal relationship the child and mother have. There is nothing artificial about it, but definitely special like all other mother-daughter relationships.

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Masaba your journey in the fashion industry has not been easy as you started from the drawing room and then you grew as a brand. Tell us about your journey in the making of the House of Masaba brand.

Masaba: For me it has been basically a very fulfilling and wholesome journey because Mom and I started the journey from the living room. It just brings me so much joy because I never did an internship and I didn’t understand about the fashion business or the retail part of it because I was self-taught largely. I think it has been both a blessing and a curse to learn on the job because I was that much more brave and I took much more chances than most of the designers in my time did. I did things differently. I used social media, Instagram to the advantage for my brand. I believe that there is a great beauty in understanding or not knowing what the problems of a specific business are because you are that much younger, braver and willing to take chances.  My journey has been interesting, but I think I have been lucky or rather luckier than most. The appreciating for my work has always been there from day one.

How are you finding this world of entertainment? Is it a kind of second profession for you or is it a kind of hobby for you? What is it like?

Masaba: It is a kind of hobby for me. Acting gives me great joy. It gives me peace and calm because for me acting is a very meditative experience. It calms me down thoroughly. It’s like a catalyst for me to be a better designer. Whenever I finish an acting project and go back to my designing studio, I am a lot more focused. So it is like a holiday for me.

 Neena, in the Masaba Masaba show you have mentioned about ageism in Bollywood. How difficult was it for you when you had to deal with ageism?

Neena: The point is ageism is in our society. And what is in our society will reflect in our literature, stories, documentaries. Ageism has always been there and it is going to be there in every profession. In our society a seventy-year-old man can marry a twenty-year-old girl. But it can’t be vice versa. This is a male dominating society, but I don’t give too much importance to it. It is there and I can’t fight it. But I will find my way out.

Tell us a little about your childhood.

Masaba: The popular opinion was that I was a very troubled child. But actually I was a very happy kid. In fact, I was asking my mom the other day if I gave her grief and misbehaved in public places but she said I was very well behaved. The thing is when you are a single kid you see the world very differently. You are much more self-contented. When you are alone, it is not loneliness, it is actually you are in your own company. So I had this ability to be by myself for a long time and I am okay. I was a curious and sharp kid. I was like a sponge and would absorb everything around me.

On your weight loss journey…

My weight loss was very personal. It was more about me getting my health in order. I had severe PCOS and acne and a lot of health issues that came with me being overweight. The most I put on weight, I can see that my body goes through severe hormonal changes. During the pandemic and the lockdown, I had lost a lot of weight. I think for me it was a personal journey. I wanted to be fitter.

On body positivity and making your brand inclusive…

Masaba: What my memory as a kid was that I was a very athletic and fuller body person. I think I remember feeling that fashion is for a select few and you need to have a certain type of body to fit into certain clothes. Even when I design today, I make sure that it is size inclusive and it is something that has a quality about it that is not intimidating. So somebody who is bigger than the regular size, they shouldn’t feel intimidated by fashion which is why Mehek’s character in Masaba Masaba resonates with me. She gets so disillusioned by fashion and the fact that designers only make clothes for a certain size. So, I wanted to address that through the series and in life too I don’t go by set beauty standards.

In Masaba Masaba you are looking for the prospective son in law for Masaba. Is it true in real life too?

Hundred percent true. I am a typical mother who wants typical things for her daughter. Only thing is that if I don’t get things that I want for my child, I don’t cry over it.

On being a single mom, how difficult has it been?

Neena : When you do two people’s work it gets tough. Earlier man was the provider and woman the nurturer. But for my case I had to do both jobs. Actually most of the women today are single mothers even if they are married because a man has to overwork to give comfort to his family. Men in our society now leave home in the morning when kids are sleeping and come back when the kids have already gone to bed. They don’t know which standard they are. So, all women are single mothers I think. The only difference is their husbands are earning. But here I had to do the earning bit too. Though my father was a huge support, but I had to earn my money.

Masaba, tell us about work-life balance, since you have mentioned it in the show…

Masaba: There is no work life balance. We cannot afford to take a break because we are living in a very fast paced world today. Eventually, you will have to find a way to get peace within yourself. Because if you are always looking for a way to escape and take a break, I don’t think that works. By the time you recharge and come back, there are three more brands in the market. I believe within the work that you do you will have to find ways to unplug and replug.

Watch the trailer here:

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