Sarika says Neena Gupta didn’t ‘open gate for other actresses’ with her work plea

Actor Sarika has responded to a statement that when senior actors were not getting good roles, it was actor Neena Gupta asking for work that opened the doors for others.

In a new interview, Sarika disagreed saying that it was Neena’s ‘individual story’ and she didn’t open the gate ‘for all other actresses’. She also added that it was ‘not as if actors were not getting roles’.

Neena, in 2017, had asked for work on her Instagram account. Sharing a photo of herself, she wrote, “I live in Mumbai and working am a good actor looking for good parts to play.”

Speaking with Siddharth Kannan, Sarika said, “I think it’s Neena ji’s individual story but it was not as if actors were not getting roles. It is her individual story that she started getting so much work which is amazing and it’s brilliant that she went and put herself out and said, ‘I want work’. Then she got work because she is a good actor, it’s brilliant. But I don’t think it is that that opened for everybody.”

“I think Shefali has been doing great work. There are so many good actresses who have been working. I love Sheeba. I just love Sheeba’s work. We worked together in Parzania also. Now when I see her work, it is amazing. So, I don’t think Neena ji opened the gate for all other actresses, it was in her case that she did something which was praiseworthy,” Sarika also said.

Sarika began her career as a child actor in the mid-1960s with films such as Majhli Didi and Hamraaz, followed by leading roles in Geet Gaata Chal, Madhu Malti, Jaan-E-Bahaar, and Jaani Dushman. But acting took a backseat after she got married to actor Kamal Haasan in 1988. She returned to the screen in the mid-2000s with films like Bheja Fry and Parzania, for which she won the National Award.

Sarika was recently seen in Sooraj Barjatya’s Uunchai, which released in theatres. Uunchai chronicles the story of four friends in their twilight years, played by Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, and Danny Denzongpa. The film also stars Neena Gupta and Parineeti Chopra. Uunchai is produced by Rajshri Productions in association with Mahaveer Jain Films and Boundless Media.