Mumbai, Oct 08 : Veteran actress Neena Gupta spoke candidly at FICCI Frames 2025 about the challenges older actors face in the entertainment industry, describing how strong, age-appropriate roles are becoming increasingly rare.
Reflecting on her journey, Neena said, “There was a time when I was getting very good roles. I was so happy doing projects that matched my age and personality. But then suddenly, some of the projects I had said yes to just disappeared.” She attributed the shift to the entry of big film producers into the OTT space. “Earlier, small-budget OTT filmmakers used to bring great stories to me. Now, when the big producers stepped in, everything changed. Those smaller films never got made.”
Neena, whose career saw a remarkable resurgence with hits like Badhaai Ho and Panchayat, acknowledged that the industry has stopped writing meaningful roles for older women. “They just stopped writing for us,” she said, highlighting the harsh reality for seasoned actors navigating the evolving landscape of cinema and streaming platforms.
The 25th edition of FICCI Frames, held on October 7–8 in Mumbai, featured leading industry figures such as Ekta Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Hansal Mehta, Shoojit Sircar, and Kiran Rao. Alongside Neena, stars including Pratik Gandhi, Huma Qureshi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Divya Dutta, and Rajpal Yadav shared insights on changing audience expectations and the future of content.
The summit also included discussions with Akshay Kumar and Ayushmann Khurrana, who shared experiences navigating the evolving dynamics of the film industry and OTT platforms.