Most actresses, especially when starting out, tend to go through the conventional phase of starring in love stories and featuring in romantic songs before branching out into diverse genres. Neha Dhupia, however, proved to be an exception. Barring films like Qayamat (2003) and Julie (2004), she largely bypassed that route and carved a distinct path for herself across genres. The unconventional choices ultimately helped her build an illustrious career spanning more than two decades. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Neha reflected on this aspect of her journey and much more.
EXCLUSIVE: Neha Dhupia calls big entourages “very stifling”; says, “Talent is not defined by the number of people you arrive on set with”
Neha Dhupia said, “It was not really unique. Maybe back then it was aspirational, but I didn’t have those many opportunities. If you look at it in reverse, it was like carving your own path. My mum always says, ‘Jo hota hai, acche ke liye hota hai’. There’s always a reason for it. What that reason is, where you’re going with it, what’s going to happen, no one knows. Maybe, 20 years later, now I feel I did the right thing because you are paying that compliment to me. Back then, I was not so calculative in my 20s.”
Meanwhile, her debut international film, 52 Blue, directed by Egyptian filmmaker Ali El Arabi, will have its grand Australian Premiere in Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2026. She said that she hoped that it would soon be premiered in India as well.
Neha Dhupia stated, “I feel like my entire life has been about playing the waiting game. I am doing the same with this one as well. You are always hoping that something interesting happens. The only thing I wish for now, in the real world, is that every job I do leads me to another interesting job and an interesting set of people – sometimes the same ones and sometimes different ones. But there’s no other place I want to be. I have no regrets and no anger. I never say, ‘Yeh industry ne mujhe yeh nahin diya ya woh nahin diya.’ Industry ne mujhe sab diya hai. It gave me a face, it gave me a voice, it gave me a name, it made me a brand. It made me public, it domesticated me – all of it. And I just love it. There’s no business like show business!”
When Neha Dhupia started out 23 years ago, vanity vans had only just become commonplace, while the term ‘entourage’ was virtually unheard of. Asked for her views on the ongoing debate around actors travelling with large entourages, Neha said, “We did have vanity vans even then, but we didn’t have big entourages. I find big entourages very stifling. And my views stay the same. I have always managed with a small entourage. I don’t think an actor’s ability or talent is defined by the number of people he or she travels with or arrives on a set with. In fact, the more you declutter yourself, the better your ability to perform.”
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Neha Dhupia credits 52 Blue director for seeing her in a different light: “I wouldn’t even be in the top 20 choices for this role! He had the option of multiple people and yet he chose me”
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