In a industry where family support is often cited as the backbone of success, acclaimed actress Sayani Gupta has opened up about a darker, more tumultuous beginning to her journey. Speaking in a recent candid interview, the Article 15 star revealed that her transition from a corporate career to the world of acting was met with such fierce resistance that her mother once threatened to take her own life.
Gupta, who has built a reputation for her versatility and grounded performances, shared that the friction began when she decided to leave a lucrative corporate job to pursue her passion. The tension reached a breaking point when she gained admission to the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
According to the actress, the news was met not with pride, but with a terrifying ultimatum. “My mom said, ‘I am going to slit my wrist if you go,'” Gupta recalled during her appearance on the podcast Cyrus Says. She described the period leading up to her career change as one of deep boredom and unfulfillment, despite making “a lot of money” in the corporate sector.
The resistance stemmed from a deep-rooted prejudice against the performing arts. Gupta revealed that her mother held extremely conservative and derogatory views of the profession, even going so far as to use harsh labels for those in the industry.
“All my life, growing up, she didn’t let me go for theatre rehearsals and locked me in my room, saying actors are prostitutes,” Gupta said. “That was the idea of actors that she had.”
The actress further shared that the relationship became so strained that her mother refused to speak to her for an entire month after she made the move to Pune.
Despite the initial trauma, the story took an ironic and somewhat heartwarming turn. After Gupta moved to the FTII campus, her mother eventually visited. In a twist of fate, it was her mother who began receiving acting offers for student diploma films on the campus.
“She accepted three out of five offers,” Gupta noted with a laugh, adding that her mother eventually admitted that perhaps the environment “wasn’t so bad” after all.
Today, Sayani Gupta stands as one of the most respected names in the Indian streaming and film space. Her story serves as a stark reminder of the cultural and generational barriers many artists must break through before they ever step in front of a camera. To know such latest updates tuned to tellyboosters.com Thank you!
