Neena Gupta recalls when Shyam Benegal asked her not to interfere in director’s job: ‘Go, sit there’

Actress Neena Gupta, who is preparing for the release of her upcoming film Vadh 2, recently shared an interesting memory involving filmmaker Shyam Benegal. Speaking to IANS during the film’s promotions, Neena reflected on the importance of dialogue, and silence, in cinema. When asked whether portraying a character without relying on dialogue feels liberating, she explained that she sees it simply as part of her work.

“It’s all part of the character and the scene, so I don’t separate it,” she said. Recalling a moment from the film, she added that there is a scene where she walks down a corridor for quite some time. While she initially wondered why the moment was being shown at length, she later understood that such choices have an impact and are carefully thought out by the director.

She further mentioned, “It happened with me once when I was working on a film with Shyam Benegal. Like actors now, argue with the director, it’s a new way in the industry. Some actors argue for right reasons, others argue for wrong reasons. Back in those days, we were scared of our directors. I told Shyam Benegal, ‘I think this dialogue, I should be doing like this’. He looked at me, and said, ‘Go, sit there quietly, focus on your role’. So many actors told me that, I am just looking at my role, the directors are looking at the whole picture. Like Jaspal, our director in ‘Vadh 2’ has this whole film in his head, so we do what he says”.

Meanwhile, ‘Vadh 2’ serves as a thematic or “spiritual” sequel to the 2022 film ‘Vadh’ and reunites Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta in new, intense roles that promise fresh emotional stakes and moral complexity. The film is a crime drama directed and written by Jaspal Singh Sandhu and produced by Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg under Luv Films.

The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on February 6, 2026.