‘You look bad when you smile’

Neha Dhupia opens up about losing confidence after a casting director criticised her smile early in her acting career

Actress Neha Dhupia, in her chat show titled Double Date with Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi, recalled how a casting director said she looks bad when she smiles and how it impacted her confidence for about nine years. Neha will be seen discussing self-doubt and body image with Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem. 

Talking about the remark, Neha said a casting director once told her, “You look bad when you smile. You have no power on your face when you smile, so don’t smile.” “I think that stayed with me for eight or nine years of my life. Imagine hearing something like that even after becoming Miss India. You start believing it somewhere,” Neha added. 

The actress explained that after hearing those words repeatedly in her head, she slowly stopped smiling freely during shoots and public appearances. The discussion became even more deep as Huma also opened up about dealing with insecurities related to appearance and public criticism. 

Neha further added that over time, maturity and self-awareness helped her move past those insecurities. She eventually realized that authenticity and confidence mattered far more than fitting into someone else’s definition of perfection.