Sir Viv Richards meets a woman of substance in Neena Gupta

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With flashlights blinding her, the young fashion designer sits down to talk to the media even as clothes designed by her fly off the shelves at the lifestyle exhibition in the plush five star venue. She is one of the most successful and influential fashion designers of the country.The interview begins with standard questions and comments.“Half your collection was sold out in a couple of hours!”“The country really loves your designs – how does it feel to reach such dizzying heights of success at this young age?”“So when are you planning to open a store here?”The charming designer replies with poise and grace. “I know that I have made my mark in the sense that people are really copying my work all over the country! Today somebody walked in wearing my fake! In that sense, I have arrived.”She exudes confidence as her answers clear the park, just as her celebrated father treated hapless bowlers in his heydays. Masaba Gupta has the confidence, the single-minded focus, and the swag of her father, the iconic Sir Viv Richards. She does mention, of course, that she has also inherited her father’s short temper.However, it does not take too long for the discussion to veer in the direction of the celebrated love story of Viv Richards and Neena Gupta - the story that dates back to the eighties.Viv, at the time, was separated from his wife Miriam. Neena Gupta and Viv Richards met and developed an instant liking for each other, the chemistry between them palpable. When she conceived Viv’s child, the feisty Neena challenged conventions and decided to keep the baby, ignoring advice from her friends and her conservative family. Masaba was born and Neena found herself in the eye of a media storm which she faced with grit and iron determination.The daughter of a government official for a father and a strict Gandhian teacher for a mother, Neena had a rather orthodox upbringing, who was not even allowed to go to movies with her girlfriends when she was in college. When Neena moved to Mumbai in the early eighties to pursue a career in acting, she was allowed to do so on the condition that she would stay with her mother’s best friend.By the time she conceived in 1989, Neena’s mother had passed away. Professionally, Neena had made her mark on the Indian television and in critically acclaimed movies.Neena’s father did not initially approve of her decision, but, when he realised she was not the kind to give in to conventions, he stood by her like a rock till the last day of his life, taking on the role of the man of the house.With love on their side, Neena and Viv made sure that, Masaba was never made to feel like her circumstances were different from her friends in school, even as his game took Viv around the world. While Masaba understood that she was the love child of celebrity parents, the family ensured she had a normal upbringing.  Masaba has to say, “I have deep respect and love for both my parents. They are both their own kind of people, successful and yet not running with the herd. Through the time when I was between 8 till I turned 14, I remember my holidays with my father. He was very active in commentary then, travelling the world, and he would come to India quite often. I never really stayed with him, but mom and I would go for holidays with him.”Today, Masaba has made peace with the fact that Sir Viv likes being home in Antigua. She respects his privacy. When she is in Europe or America, the girl makes sure she makes a trip to see her father.As for Neena, when Masaba decided to launch her fashion line, she took care of the nitty-gritties, allowing Masaba to focus on her creativity. The love story of Neena Gupta and Viv Richards lives on through Masaba as she goes on to conquer the world with her unique and quirky designs.

Counterfeit is part of your India DNA

Let's know when the Looting DNA starts  ::LOL::

viv raised a child from 10,000 miles away. what a man.