Neesha Singh's journey into the world of acting was anything but conventional. Born into a Sikh family in the posh Malabar Hill area, she never imagined that her acting career would begin in a college canteen. It all started when she was approached for a video test for a Hindustan Lever campaign, directed by the legendary Alyque Padamsee. Despite her family's reservations, she took the opportunity, and her life changed forever.
The Fair & Lovely commercial became an instant sensation, and Neesha's father set a strict boundary: only one ad a month to ensure she finished her post-graduation. This limitation worked in her favor, making her more desirable and allowing her to work with top brands without being overexposed. She was not overexposed. She could choose, ask for good money, and the best brands came to her - Bombay Dyeing, Lakmé, Nescafe. You name the brand, and she did it.
Her film journey began with a visit to the Prithvi Theatre, where she met filmmaker M.S. Sathyu. After watching his film Garam Hawa, she pleaded with her father to get permission to act in Kahan Kahan Se Guzar Gaya opposite Anil Kapoor. The film traveled internationally, even if it didn't get a major domestic release.
Then came Sagar Sarhadi's Bazaar (1982). Neesha, barely 18, entered the film believing she was part of a central love story. Only later did she realize her role was supporting. Despite working with leading filmmakers, Neesha was aware that she didn't fit the mold of mainstream Hindi cinema at the time.
During the shoot of Bazaar, Smita Patil gave her a blunt reality check about her South Bombay persona. "I told Smita I want to do this art film, and she said, 'Why do you think anybody will use you? You have the wrong body language. Everything about you is wrong.'" Even Shyam Benegal told her she looked too much like a "princess" for his rural narratives—only to cast her years later as Princess Sanjukta in Bharat Ek Khoj.
It was N. Chandra's Ankush that truly tested her. Her co-star, Nana Patekar, was initially horrified by her casting. "Nana hated me on sight," she laughs. "He looked at Chandra and said in Marathi, 'Are you mad? How the hell do you think you can use this girl?'" But by the third day, after watching her reaction shots, he tapped her head and said, 'Chal jayegi tu' (You'll make it). He became her most dedicated co-star.
By the mid-90s, Neesha had transitioned to television, becoming a household name with Buniyaad and later A Mouthful of Sky, where she worked alongside a new generation of actors including Milind Soman and Rahul Bose. She was, by her own admission, 'very spoiled.' Parts were written specifically for her, and she worked only 20 days a month.
Then, in 1997, at her peak, she vanished. "I got married, moved to Singapore overnight. I had one or two running serials where they had to bump me off or make me disappear," she explains. Producers offered to shoot her portions in Singapore, but Neesha's one-track mind wouldn't allow it. "For me acting was not a junoon, it was a shauk," she said.
She wanted to be a full-time mother. Her last screen work came in 1998, the year her daughter was born. What was meant to be a break became an indefinite hiatus. A return to Mumbai seemed possible at one point but personal circumstances intervened. When her brother suffered a stroke, she chose to stay back with her family instead of restarting her career.
"I missed my work, but the best job I have done is bringing up my daughter," she says. "The kind of relationship I have with her is worth every moment." Today, Neesha is dipping her toes back into the arts, she provided on-stage narration for Manjari Chaturvedi's The Courtesan – An Enigma. While she admires the work of actors like Neena Gupta, she remains selective, refusing to do 'risque' scenes and admitting she doesn't know how to 'ask' for work.
