Masaba with her father Vivian Richards at her wedding. (Courtesy: MasabaGupta)
Masaba Gupta is the daughter of veteran actress Neena Gupta and West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards. Masaba, who dons many hats, including actress, entrepreneur and fashion designer, recently talked about how people believe that her father Vivian Richards has "left her hundreds of crores." She says, "There's no hundreds of crores. They're being built, but I'm building that myself.” In an interview with Twinkle Khanna, Masaba Gupta said, “Everyone tells me till today that you have become what you've become because of your mum and your dad. Someone apparently told a friend once, they're like ‘what's she got to do? Her dad's just left her like hundreds of crores.' I said, no, there's no hundreds of crores. They're being built, but I'm building that myself.” For Masaba, the success of her parents – Neena Gupta and Vivian Richards – were a “great benchmark.” She said, “I had two examples in my house of how great you can be.”
Did you know Masaba Gupta once wanted to be a tennis player? Reminiscing the old days, Masaba opened up about her relationship with tennis and how she parted ways with the sport. She also mentioned how her inclination towards tennis was a “dream come true” for her father Vivian Richards. Masaba said, “I mean I think it was his dream come true to have me become a tennis star. And I was playing, I think I was number three in Maharashtra. That much I did with my anger issues. I did that much…But no more than that. In my head, I couldn't talk myself out of it. And that's what playing a sport like tennis is about right? It's what you play in isolation.”
According to Masaba, she was “just too angry a tennis player” and had no control over her emotions. However, she had the best tennis outfits and looks. All thanks to her father, who used to bring the outfits from London.
Masaba said, “I was just too angry a tennis player. And, it just went into no control of my emotions, whatsoever, which is why today when I look at these tennis stars and look at Federer and I look at all these guys and they have this calm, composed mindset. And, I remember how important it was back then to have that as well. But I just would be breaking rackets and badly behaved. I had the best dresses though. I had the best tennis outfits and looks because my dad would bring me everything from London at that time.”
Masaba Gupta never misses out on showing appreciation to her father. In one of her Instagram posts, the designer talked about using her father's cricket theory of “hitting the gaps” in her business. She shared a video, which was an excerpt from Viv Richards' interview, where the cricket icon was asked about his aggressive playing style. Vivian Richards replied: “It's instinctive you know…As a batsman, it's all about – you're an artist. I remember when I first went to England, my coach at Somerset said, ‘Play in the V, man,' and we had contrasting views and I guess I was a little bit strong-headed at the time. But I believe that you have got to hit the gaps.”
In the caption, Masaba Gupta wrote, “Just Dad being dad…Is it ok that I use the ‘gotta hit the gaps'theory in running my business? (and Incase you're wondering where the aggression comes from ) #iconsonly.”
Coming back to Masaba Gupta's interview, the fashion designer revealed that for a short phase in her life, before enrolling in fashion school, she wanted to become an actor. Her mother Neena Gupta didn't support her decision. Even though Neena Gupta got Masaba enrolled in Anupam Kher's acting school, the actress explained that “you [Masaba Gupta] are not a conventionally Indian face. You'll get put in a box in this industry. So, why do you want to go down that road.”
In the interview, Masaba Gupta also opened up about her failed marriage to film producer Madhu Mantena, her career graph and some of the failures she encountered in her journey.
Masaba Gupta is the founder of the design label House Of Masaba. She made her acting debut with the Netflix show Masaba Masaba in 2020.