Satish Kaushik says pregnant Neena Gupta ‘was in tears’ when he offered to marry her: ‘I simply stood by her’

Actor Neena Gupta, in her recently released autobiography, Sach Kahun Toh, shared an anecdote on how her good friend, actor Satish Kaushik offered to marry her when she was pregnant with her daughter, fashion designer Masaba Gupta. In a new interview, Satish explained how he did so out of friendly feelings for her.

Neena Gupta got pregnant while she was in a relationship with former cricketer Sir Viv Richards in the 1980s. She raised her daughter, Masaba Gupta, single-handedly.

Speaking to a leading daily, Satish Kaushik said that he has known Neena since 1975 and shares a close friendship with her. His offer to marry her came from his fondness for her as a friend, he said, adding that he did not want her to ‘feel alone’.

“I used to appreciate the fact that a girl at that time decided to have a child out of wedlock. As a true friend, I simply stood by her and gave her confidence. Whatever you are reading in the memoir, it was all an expression of my affection for her as a friend. I was concerned about not letting her feel alone. At the end of the day, that’s what friends are for, right? As mentioned in the book, when I offered to marry her, it was a mix of humour, concern, respect, and support for my best friend in her time of need,” he said.

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Satish said that Neena was overwhelmed with emotion when he offered to marry her. “I told her, ‘Main hoon na, tu chinta kyu karti hai (I am here for you, you don’t have to worry)’. She was moved by the gesture and was in tears. From that day onwards, our friendship grew stronger,” he said.

Neena also revealed in her autobiography that another friend suggested that she marry a gay man when she was pregnant with Masaba. While Neena would have been allowed to say that Masaba was his daughter, he would not be a part of their lives.