'You look bad when you smile’: Neha Dhupia recalls how casting director’s harsh comment affected her for 10 years

BOllywood actors feature often spoken well-nigh the rough beaut standards and comments they faced at the kickoff of their careers. Now, actor Neha Dhupia has recalled how a casting director’s remark about her smile deeply affected her confidence and changed the way she carried herself for years.Neha Dhupia recalls how casting director's remarks affect herNeha and her husband, actor Angad Bedi, recently hosted Huma Qureshi and her brother Saqib Saleem on their show Double Date. During the episode, Neha opened up about an incident from the early days of her career.Recalling the experience, Neha said, “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.’” Talking about how deeply the comment affected her, Neha shared, “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.” She also revealed that losing Miss Universe had shaken her confidence as well, and that it took her nearly eight to ten months to recover emotionally.Huma Qureshi also recalled retreating into a shell after facing social media trolling following her second film. She revealed that the harsh comments deeply affected her, left her shaken, and eventually led her to seek therapy and start journalling.About Neha Dhupia and Huma Qureshi’s recent and upcoming workNeha was last seen in the web series Perfect Family. Helmed by Sachin Pathak, the show was produced by Pankaj Tripathi and also featured Gulshan Devaiah, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa and Girija Oak in lead roles. The eight-episode series blended humour and drama while exploring family dynamics, emotional well-being and the role of therapy in resolving conflicts. The show received positive reviews and is available to watch on YouTube.Neha also recently made her international film debut with 52 Blue. Directed by acclaimed Egyptian filmmaker Ali El Arabi, the film also stars Adil Hussain and Shashidhar Yadav in pivotal roles. The film was screened at the DC International Film Festival and is yet to receive a theatrical release.Huma, on the other hand, is awaiting the release of her upcoming film Baby Do Die Do. Helmed by Nachiket Samant, the film has been produced by Saqib Saleem and is scheduled to release in theatres on July 3. She also has Geetu Mohandas’ Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups in the pipeline. The film stars Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth in lead roles. Its release date is yet to be announced.