Esha Gupta entered Bollywood a few years after she was crowned Miss India International in 2007. After appearing in Bollywood films like Total Dhaamal and Rustom, Gupta has become a household name in India.
The 33-year-old actress and self-confessed Arsenal fan was recently at the centre of a controversy, when she shared racist remarks about Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi on her Instagram account. She apologised for the remark but the story was already picked up by every British tabloid.
Moving on from the incident, she has been focusing on her upcoming web series and during a tête-à-tête with BollyNewsUK she opened up about her work and more.
You’re selective with the projects you do in Bollywood. What do you look for in films?
It has to be either a full on commercial film or a great story. If actors start considering films as a ‘business’ then the passion vanishes.
Web series have become a hit in India – is that something that interests you especially since you can reach a global audience with the content?
We need to change with time. I believe web will take over India in a few years as it has more to offer and diverse content for everyone. Personally, all of the shows I watch are online and I’m going to be working on a web series soon too.
You have portrayed various roles: what kind of characters excite you the most?
I absolutely love era films. Rustom was set in the 60s and Badshaho was 70s. I’d love to do more era films as love the feel of such film.
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There is still a huge gender pay gap worldwide in every field, although it has been improving for women in some sectors. Bollywood still has to catch up. What’s your take on this issue?
The fact that we are still discussing it, means it still exists. In my own case, I see how actors who’ve done lesser work and fewer films than me, getting paid more. In our industry, men have been given an image of being powerful like everything is riding on their shoulders. This mind set in Bollywood needs to stop now.
India is often in the news for some the crimes that people commit. You are playing a crime branch officer in your next film. How did you prepare for the role? Was it difficult to get in/out of character?
I had to learn a Haryanvi accent for my role. I’ve had extensive training for so that it seems natural. The body language was one thing I had to work on as well.
What else can we expect from you now?
I’m really excited about my web series now.
One of the most renowned and commercially successful actresses in Bollywood, Jacqueline Fernandez becomes the first ever Brand Ambassador of Colorbar. 
The unique selling point for my previous films has always been the relatability factor of the characters and story. Pyaar Ka Punchanama & Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 only worked because the audience related to the content. Even the tremendous response to the trailer of Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is due to the connect that the audience feels to the content. We’re also sure about our target audience which is the youth, whether at home or abroad. I’ve always been able to connect with them through my movies. The main reason behind using those words in the film is not because we feel we must use them, but because of the characters we portray. It is the language young people use in India. It’s not done for effect. I guess, we can’t cheat our young audiences either to appeal to another audience if we don’t use those words. It would not fit right as everyone know that these words are used by the younger generation and quite casually to be honest. It’s considered normal. Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is also very different from my previous films as it doesn’t just revolve around boyfriend/girlfriend relationships but a is step ahead with the focus being on marriage. There is an important part played by the family in the film. Alok Nath, who played memorable father characters in multiple Hindi films, is a part of the film along with many other talented actors portraying the roles of aunts and uncles. Since the story revolves around marriage and family, the abusive language is most likely not going to affect anything. We’ve never played it safe and dint want to do it with this one either.
So it doesn’t matter to you?
It’s also a fresh pairing with Sonakshi Sinha for you after a long time. Was that a conscious decision?
I still enjoy your movies from the 90’s.
Jadoo is a British-made film set in Leicester, and tells the story of two brothers, Raja (Harish Patel – Run Fatboy Run) and Jagi (Kulvinder Ghir – Bend it Like Beckham). Both are wonderful chefs, who fall out so catastrophically that in the climax of their dispute they rip the family recipe book in half: one brother gets the starters and the other gets the main courses. They set up rival restaurants, on opposite sides of the Belgrave Road in Leicester; one cooking starters and the other main courses, and refuse to talk to one another.
How did you get into acting?
One of the songs of the film Prague ‘Kap Kap Kap’ which is originally sung and written by a Czeck artist is translated in hindi by lyricist Varun Grover. The hindi song was recorded yesterday, June 3rd by Shalmali Kolgade.
Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor was in London recently to promote his latest release, Karan Johar’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The young award-winning actor teamed up with Johar’s production house, Dharma Productions and with director Aya
Susi Ganesh’s Shortcut Romeo was premiered at Cannes Film Festival in the non-competition section yesterday. This film will always hold special memories for the Tamil director.
Rahul Bhat was excited to walk the Red Carpet as his latest movie Ugly was screened at Cannes 2013.
