Neena Gupta opens up about lack of roles for actors of her age

Mumbai: Veteran actress Neena Gupta opened up about the struggles actors face as they grow older. She revealed that many projects simply don’t offer roles suited to their age.

Speaking at FICCI Frames 2025, she reflected on a period in her career when she was offered several interesting roles, especially ones that suited her age. Neena enjoyed doing these projects and felt excited about the opportunities. However, she noticed that some films she had agreed to do never materialized.

The ‘Badhaai Ho’ actress stated, “I got a lot of roles. I enjoyed it a lot. In my age, the makers couldn't write anything. They couldn't write anything for us. So, I got a lot of good roles. I did a lot of work. And then what happened? Suddenly, the project for which I had said yes—that project didn't come back. So, I asked my manager, what happened? And I was very excited. They were very great projects. Great role for me.”

“So, what happened? Suddenly, all the big film producers, successful film producers, they entered into it. Because kids used to get money. They entered into it. And the small budget OTT film producers, who used to tell me stories, they were left shocked. I still have work,” she added.

The 25th edition of FICCI Frames, Asia’s leading media and entertainment summit, is scheduled for October 7–8, 2025, in Mumbai.

The conclave will feature interactive sessions and panel discussions with prominent filmmakers and producers, including Ekta Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Hansal Mehta, Shoojit Sircar, and Kiran Rao, alongside celebrated actors such as Neena Gupta, Pratik Gandhi, Huma Qureshi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Divya Dutta, and Rajpal Yadav. On the first day, Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar and Ayushmann Khurrana took the stage to share insights and engage with the audience.