Neena Gupta's first love was a Delhi IITian, they rushed into marriage for a Kashmir trip but love story did not last long

Time of India

09-07-2025

Neena Gupta
has never shied away from telling her truth, whether it's through her candid autobiography Sach Kahun Toh or her bold choices onscreen. Now, even as she garners praise for her latest performances in Panchayat Season 4 and
Metro... In Dino
, the veteran actress is reflecting on an intensely personal chapter from her past—her first marriage to an IIT-Delhi student, a relationship that began with youthful passion but ended in quiet separation.
In an interview with News18 Showsha, Neena recalled how her romance began with an IITian named
Amlan Kumar Ghose
, whom she eventually married. During college, her modern outlook sparked jealousy among classmates, especially when her style clashed with their conservative norms. On one occasion, after she casually mentioned her movie plans with her boyfriend to a classmate, the news reached her mother, who forbade her from going. With no phones back then, she couldn't inform him, and he kept waiting.
According to reports in India Today, her bond with Amlan formed at an inter-college event and grew in secret through stolen meetings on campus and near her home. Since Amlan's parents lived in another city, he often stayed with his grandfather, who coincidentally lived close to Neena's house, giving them more chances to meet during festivals and holidays. Back then, having a boyfriend was strictly forbidden for Neena, which made the entire experience thrilling. They would go on dates in his car and often spend time together near IIT-Delhi. Despite keeping the relationship under wraps for a long time, Neena eventually opened up to her mother as the relationship grew more serious.
Neena Gupta's first marriage
As per reports in India Today, the idea of marriage emerged when Amlan planned a trip to Srinagar with friends, and Neena expressed her wish to join them. Her mother, however, permitted her only if she got married. That's when Neena decided to tie the knot in a quiet Arya Samaj ceremony, with close family and friends in attendance. Since Amlan's parents did not approve of his relationship with a non-Bengali girl, they were kept in the dark about the wedding.
Post-marriage, the couple went to Srinagar and returned happy. They moved into a small flat in Rajender Nagar as Amlan looked for work and Neena pursued her master's degree in Sanskrit at Delhi University. But life quickly took different turns for them.
Problems in marriage
While Amlan expected a conventional homemaker, Neena discovered her love for theatre. She realised that she was too ambitious to settle into the traditional role of a housewife. This difference in expectations led them to amicably part ways within a year of marriage. Amlan moved away for work, and Neena returned to live with her parents.
Neena Gupta about 'mad love'
In the same News18 interview, Neena admitted that despite several relationships, she never experienced the kind of all-consuming love seen in films or novels. She revealed that nobody had loved her like that and nobody fell went crazy with her. However, she recalls only once she fell madly in love—but that story never turned into a relationship, as circumstances didn't allow it.
In the late 1980s, Neena Gupta was in a relationship with former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards. Although they never married—since Richards was already married at the time—they welcomed a daughter, Masaba Gupta, in 1989. Choosing to raise Masaba as a single mother, Neena embraced the journey on her own. Years later, in 2008, she tied the knot with New Delhi–based chartered accountant Vivek Mehra in a private ceremony held in the United States.
Neena Gupta and her husband, Vivek Mehra.
Neena Gupta's recent work
On the work front, Neena has been winning hearts once again with her portrayal of the feisty Manju Devi in Panchayat and her role in Anurag Basu's Metro… In Dino, she stars alongside stalwarts like Anupam Kher, Pankaj Tripathi, Konkona Sen Sharma, and emerging stars like Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film is a spiritual successor to Basu's much-loved Life in a… Metro.