This Netflix original premiered on August 28. It revolves around a slightly fictional account of fashion designer Masaba Gupta and her mother, veteran actress Neena Gupta‘s life. Producer Ashvini Yardi, while toying with the idea of making a biopic different from the scores of biopics available came up with this series’ idea. Unlike most biopics only portraying the positive side of the character, this series was meant to explore all human feelings, negative and positive, that the character faces. ‘Masaba Masaba’ manages to take viewers inside the glamour world and show aspects of celebrity lives that are often hidden behind the practiced, picture-perfect smiles.
This miniseries is 6 episodes long. Masaba Masaba steers away from emotional drama still managing to drive home relevant points without being superfluous. The series puts the spotlight on Masaba. As she strives to set her footing in the fashion industry while also struggling to manage her love life, friendship, and her relationship with her mother.
Cast and Plot of Masaba Masaba
Starring the Gupta ladies and the first two episodes of the series do not disappoint. Besides showcasing the complex relationship between Masaba and her mother Neena. The first two episodes send out a strong message about a mother-daughter duo trying to fight the complexities that life throws at them. The show offers its viewers candid and emotional scenes. Actor Satyadeep Mishra is seen playing Masaba’s singer husband Vinay and talks of the couple’s impending separation. Masaba and producer Madhu Mantena’s divorce had dominated the gossip columns for months before the two announced their separation. Although the two are now divorced, they remain good friends.
The second episode revolves around actor Neena Gupta’s “trying to get back into films” phase. The veteran actress is shown in her most vulnerable state as an artist who is still excited to get roles form Bollywood bigwigs. Neena Gupta has revealed that she has had her fair share of struggle in getting good work. “I have been here for so many years and in all those years, I have suffered a lot. I have seen a lot. And I have been rejected so many times. There have been times when I have been signed on a film, my blouse measurements have been taken and then I have been replaced. I have gone through all this. ”, recalls the actor.
The two leading ladies, like any of us, fight, argue, love and care about each other. Neena Gupta is seen perturbed by the news of her daughter’s separation to a great extent. She reacts just like any other Indian parent would to their child’s divorce. Notwithstanding the fact that divorces and separations are common in the industry the two are a part of.
The Performances
The actors have undoubtedly done a wonderful job, and it is refreshing to see Masaba Gupta step out of her fashion designer avatar and act for a change. Neena Gupta steals the show with her warmth and manages to provide the laughs in equal measures. Her screen presence is natural in the scenes that demand her to be unintentionally funny.
Actress Rytasha Rathore is seen playing Masaba’s best friend in Masaba Masaba. We also get to see a few celebrity cameos by Neil Bhoopalam, Farah Khan, Kiara Advani and Shibani Dandekar in the miniseries. The character of Neil Bhoopalam, as her nosy manager is a mix of some of the most interesting people in Masaba’s life.
Overall Review of Masaba Masaba
The series manages to maintain a nice and breezy pace throughout and is subtle in its context yet entertaining because of its leading women. The delectable blend of fact and fiction also showcases the fashion stereotypes revolving around the requirement of conventional looks, skin colour, and a certain body type. This are needed to be a part of the industry and the moral and ethical dilemma faced by a designer to rise through the ranks.
Is Masaba Masaba based on real events or is it fictional?
The show is a fictionalized version of the highly public lives of the mother-daughter duo Neena and Masaba Gupta. Masaba, believes that even the fictional moments in the show are very close to reality. The show makers were clear about keeping the identities of most characters secret. For example, Masaba’s husband’s name is changed to a fictional one. The structure of the script focused on talking about real life situations faced by the actors. The audience didn’t know, which parts were fiction, and which were real. However, a large part of the show is based on reality. According to the makers, it was the essence of the show that mattered the most.
Few Scenes where reality and fiction were blended together
To give an example of this blend of reality and fiction, we would ask you to pay heed to the scene where Neena Gupta lashes out at Neil’s character for disrupting her daughter’s me-time to discuss work late at night. In an interview, Masaba stated that never did her mother scold somebody other than her first boyfriend. “She didn’t pick up the phone, she reached his house with me! She sat there and thrashed not just him, but his parents also. I’ll never forget,” recalls the actor.
Neena Gupta while recalling an incident from her life goes on to say, “There was a time when I got space in the van shared with three people. Then, it was the one partitioned into two parts. But after Badhaai Ho, I started getting a separate vanity van. It’s a small thing, but it is also a big thing if you look at it.”
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Fun Fact
- Masaba had not acted before or done anything remotely close to acting. In fact, as a teenager, she spoke of her aspiration to become an actor. But her actor-mother Neena Gupta discouraged her. Neena thought an industry like Bollywood that thrives on looks and beauty will not have enough space for her daughter with her unconventional looks, and that she may be side-lined. It came from a place of concern.
- Neena Gupta states that this character was not something that excited her. “It was very boring to play myself, when you are playing someone else, you have to work on it, understand the intricacies, that is much more interesting than playing yourself. This was very easy for me and not so exciting,” says the actor before adding “I would have done it anyway even if Masaba weren’t a part of it because I thought the script was really nice.”
Conclusion
So have you watched this beautiful series yet? if not what are you waiting for? Stream the original as soon as you can, exclusively on Netflix.
