Acting is therapy for me: Masaba Gupta

She made her acting debut in 2020 with the ‘Netflix’ series, ‘Masaba Masaba’

Celebrity fashion designer Masaba Gupta said she started taking up acting offers out of sheer love for the craft and not to achieve fame or success.

Masaba, one of the most popular designers in the film industry, made her acting debut in 2020 with the ‘Netflix’ series, ‘Masaba Masaba’, featuring alongside her actor mother Neena Gupta. As she is set to return to the screen after two years with the latest ‘Prime Video’ series ‘Modern Love Mumbai’, the 32-year-old designer asserted acting is like a ‘therapy’ for her and the recognition comes as a bonus.

“Suddenly people have started recognising me. For 12 years I worked hard in designs, but no one knew as people thought, ‘Masaba is an idea, she just does these clothes’. Life has changed for the better, I am calmer today. Being in front of the camera on a set and acting is meditative, it is therapy for me. It helps me at my work, at my home with my relationships. It is probably because I am not doing this to put food on my table. My validation does not come from which star am I working with,” said Masaba.

Though the designer aspired to be an actor since her early teens, she is glad she did not pursue it aggressively at the time as the industry would have slotted her in ‘typical’ roles.

“That would have taken a beating on my mental health. I was telling my mother that at 14 if I had decided to act instead of design, I would have been a wreck. There would have been no opportunity coming my way or very typical opportunities, where I would have been put in a box. I control the narrative, what I want to do and who I want to work with. It is not for money or fame; it is just because I love doing it. Being on a set is like my holiday from my office life,” she shared.

The Mumbai chapter of the popular US original anthology series ‘Modern Love’ features shorts by six filmmakers - Vishal Bhardwaj, Hansal Mehta, Shonali Bose, Dhruv Sehgal, Alankrita Shrivastava and Nupur Asthana.

Masaba stars in ‘I Love Thane’, directed by Sehgal, best known for creating and starring in the romantic-comedy series ‘Little Things’.

While ‘Masaba Masaba’ was inspired by real moments from her life, this is the first time she is playing a fictional character, Saiba.

‘I Love Thane’ also stars Ritwik Bhowmik, Prateik Babbar, Aadar Malik and Dolly Singh.

Set to return to the screen with ‘Modern Love Mumbai’, the 32-year-old designer said recognition comes as a bonus