Neena Gupta attended the TOI Dialogues – Uttarakhand 2025 Edition on Tuesday evening, where she spoke about how education influenced her decision-making about films, her journey in the industry, and shared some advice for aspiring actors. During the event, she highlighted two key points that every actor should know.
Concentration is key
When asked to give advice to actors, Neena explained that, based on her experience, an actor needs two things: the first is concentration. She elaborated, “Jo (concentration) humare paas nahi hoti hai (which we often lack).”The veteran actress stressed that an actor must deliver lines as if they genuinely mean them. Using the example of reading a book while the mind is elsewhere, she said that even if a person reads the entire page, they wouldn’t truly understand it.She added, “Main itna kaam kar chuki hoon ki main ek average acting bina mean kiye kar leti hoon (I have worked so much that I can do an average performance without actually meaning it).” But she clarified, “Par woh best acting nahi hoti hai (But that cannot be called best acting).”
Action and reaction matter
Neena Gupta further explained, “So one thing is, I mean what I am saying, and second — I listen to the other actor’s dialogue.” She pointed out that many actors start rehearsing their lines while their co-actor is speaking, which affects the authenticity of their performance. She emphasized, “It’s action and reaction. If your action is not correct, your reaction is not correct. Then you are not the best. That’s what I have learnt.”Neena concluded by saying that she has nothing more to share beyond these two essential points for actors.
