Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 3: Veteran actress Neena Gupta is set to reunite with longtime collaborator and fellow National School of Drama alumnus Anupam Kher in Anurag Basu’s much-anticipated film Metro... In Dino, a follow-up to the 2007 hit Life in a... Metro.

In an exclusive interaction with NDTV, Neena Gupta candidly shared her thoughts on playing an elderly couple opposite Kher and addressed comparisons with the iconic senior pairing of Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali in the original film. “I don’t see them as competition,” she smiled, adding, “The director has a visual vision. If we fit into that, they cast us. Star saleability doesn’t apply to actors like us—that’s for lead pairs.”

She also reminisced about working with Dharmendra years ago and expressed a desire to share the screen with him again.

The casting discussion also recalled her viral 2019 response to the film Saand Ki Aankh, where younger actors Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu portrayed elderly sharpshooters. “At least give roles of our age to us,” she had written then, echoing the sentiment of many veteran performers.

Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher, who were last seen together in Shiv Shastri Balboa (2023), share a deep-rooted camaraderie dating back to Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983). “When two good actors work together, chemistry happens naturally,” she said. “We know each other’s moods, habits—everything.”

Speaking of her experience, she said, “Even if the actor is new, I never have a problem working with them.”

Directed by Anurag Basu, Metro... In Dino features an ensemble cast including Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Ali Fazal, and Konkona Sen Sharma. The film is slated for release on July 4.