Neha Dhupia recalls harsh industry comment which shattered her confidence

Neha Dhupia recently opened up about the lasting impact of a casting director’s remark during the early days of her career, revealing how it affected her confidence for nearly a decade. The actor made the candid revelation while hosting Huma Qureshi and her brother Saqib Saleem, along with her husband Angad Bedi on their show Double Date.

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The rude comment

Recalling the incident, Neha shared, “Mujhe mere career ke bahut starting mein, jab main ekdum nayi thi industry mein (In the very beginning of my career, when I was completely new to the industry), I was going for an audition for a TV show. I was sitting in a casting director's car, and he looked at me, and I smiled. He said, ‘you don't smile. You look bad when you smile. You have more power on your face when you don't smile.’”

The comment deeply affected Neha, who admitted that it changed the way she presented herself publicly for years. Speaking about the emotional impact, she said, “After that I even won Miss India but you see my photos, I am not smiling. It affected me for 8-10 years before I recovered. She said that your smile doesn't work for you.” Neha also revealed that losing the Miss Universe title had further shaken her confidence, and that it took her nearly eight to ten months to recover emotionally from the experience.

Huma Qureshi opens up about her own struggles

During the conversation, Huma Qureshi also reflected on the emotional toll of public criticism. She recalled withdrawing into a shell after facing severe trolling on social media following the release of her second film. According to Huma, the harsh comments left her deeply shaken and eventually pushed her to seek therapy and begin journaling.

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Their current professional stands

On the professional front, Neha Dhupia was last seen in the web series Perfect Family, directed by Sachin Pathak and produced by Pankaj Tripathi. The series also featured Gulshan Devaiah, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa and Girija Oak in key roles. The show explored family dynamics, emotional well-being and therapy, and received positive reviews after its release on YouTube.

Neha also recently made her international film debut with 52 Blue, directed by Egyptian filmmaker Ali El Arabi. The film also stars Adil Hussain and Shashidhar Yadav and was screened at the DC International Film Festival.

Meanwhile, Huma Qureshi is awaiting the release of Baby Do Die Do, directed by Nachiket Samant and produced by Saqib Saleem. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on July 3. She also has Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups in the pipeline, directed by Geetu Mohandas and starring Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth.