‘My Advice To My 20-Year-Old Self? Take Lots Of Pictures’

Neha Dhupia in conversation with Lachmi Deb Roy about the work-from-home edition of #NoFilterNeha, now in its fifth season

Tell us about your show #NoFilterNeha

We want to have great conversations and a good laugh with the celebrities I interview. With so much negativity on social media, I want to emphasise happiness and fun. Under no circumstances do I try to be a journalist. Instead, I am a host. Everything we talk about is based on research. Often, chat shows are mainly about the work a celebrity has done, but my approach is more comprehensive. When we were talking to Sourav Ganguly, I made sure that the conversation was beyond cricket. So, my talk shows are more of a chat than news.

How different is producing from acting?

When you produce your content, you are responsible for a lot more. Acting is easier because all you need to do is go on the set, be on time, learn your lines, play the part and return. But as a producer and content creator, you have to do all of it. The problem is when you have to do it all from home. I have a great team, but during the lockdown, they are physically not there to help you. They can just guide you. By the end of every recording, I used to be dead tired.

Being a producer is like having a baby. Now, you are bringing your office to home. Your child, your husband everybody lives in your office. There have been times that my daughter ran into the frame. I was playing the dual role of mother and show host at the same time. In the middle of all that, you want to finish your show because we live in an overpriced, undersized Mumbai apartment. You need to wrap it up fast because you need to make your kid’s food and your husband wants to cross the frame to get something. There was a time when a courier guy wanted my signature, but the show was still on.

Who was your favourite among the guests?

Sourav Ganguly. I was a fangirl by the end of the episode. I got to know so much more about him as the conversation was not just about cricket. We talked about many things, from football to his biopic and what he is doing right now. I got to know one of the most loved captains of the Indian cricket team as a person.

How has the show helped you evolve as a person?

If my team had asked me to do the show from home a year ago, I wouldn’t have agreed. But with the lockdown and a baby at home, I have learnt a lot of things, like multitasking. I used to be technologically challenged, but not anymore. I fix the lights, do my hair and makeup and edit. Initially, my team handled these aspects. This experience has made me believe that if you set your mind to something, nothing can stop you.

How have the guests of your show motivated you?

I learnt about discipline and the fact that we all go through our ups and downs. When I was chatting with Neena Gupta, I asked her what it is like to be in the business of acting. She replied that she would wake up in the morning and make calls and reach out to people for work. I realised that if she could do that at her level of experience, then I too should. It’s not that there isn’t work, but often you don’t get the kind of work you want.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

Believe it or not, just click pictures and save the memories. In my twenties, I lived the life I wanted to, but I don’t have many pictures. I was 21 when I won Miss India. I was a good, hardworking military kid and I could do anything to go back to those days. Sadly, we didn’t have camera phones back then.