Actress Neena Gupta, who has been receiving positive response to her work in the recently released streaming show ‘Chumbak’, has praised the show’s producer JD Majethia, recalling an incident that left a lasting impression on her.
Neena spoke to IANS alongside Sumeet Raghavan, Sandeepa Dhar, Sumeet Vyas, Deven Bhojani and Manasi Parekh during the promotions of the show in Mumbai’s BKC area.
Recalling an incident from an awards event, Neena described Majethia as a “ladies’ man” and spoke about the way he helped her when she was called on stage to receive an award.
“He is from some other planet. He’s a ladies’ man, which is a very interesting part. I think after the shooting, I had gone somewhere for an award. So, he was sitting next to me, by chance. So, the hosts called my name on the stage to present the award,” she said.
Neena said Majethia took her purse and accompanied her to the stage, describing his conduct as that of a “godfather”.
“I went to collect the award. He was like my godfather. I mean, he became a shadow. He took my purse, and he took me to the stage. I didn’t like giving him my purse as I felt it’s not right to do that considering he is such a well established name. He held my hand. When I came back, he took my purse again,” she told IANS.
She added that despite having worked with him on only one project, she felt his gesture came from a genuine sense of care rather than familiarity.
“Even though I don’t know much about him. I did only this project. So, it’s not like he did it out of friendship,” she said.
“There is this whole family feeling with him. He is one of those kinds of people that if there is a problem, you can go to him,” Neena added.
‘Chumbak’ is described as a multi-generational comedy set in a contemporary urban Indian neighbourhood, where celebrations, crises and everyday life bring the community together.
The show brings together humour and observations about the lives of its characters while portraying the neighbourhood as an extended family.