Her expressions are so real. Her laughter, her sobs are so natural. When she converses with her co-actors, she does so in such spontaneous a manner that you do not feel as if you are watching someone act, but rather feel as if you are witnessing someone speaking live: very comfortably, very easily and without any pressure. This is what makes Deepti Gupta a gem of an actress.
I first saw Deepti Gupta in HUM TV’s drama serial “Ishq Junoon Deewangi”. Since I did not fancy that drama serial a lot, I never watched it regularly with a keen interest, but whenever I would catch a glimpse of it while switching channels, and find Deepti speaking, I would stop pressing the “next” button repeatedly right away and observe the dusky beauty. Her voice would be so clear. She would speak each and every dialogue in such a refined way, as if knowing and feeling deeply her character and carrying it very carefully.
A few months after “Ishq Junoon Deewangi” stopped airing, teasers of “Malaal” got released. Though Deepti Gupta would appear in them, but at that point in time, I did not go for “Malaal” owing to Deepti Gupta, but due to Mehreen Jabbar who has always been my favourite director. I was determined to watch the whole serial. And that was the time when I fell for Deepti Gupta’s acting in the real sense. Her dressing, her romantic conversations with Imran Abbas, her angry chats with Faisal Rehman, her consoling dialogues before Sarwat Gillani, and her scenes of catharsis before Tania Kazi were all amazing and outscored every other aspect of the drama serial. She was infact the queen of “Malaal”. Another inspiring thing about her in “Malaal” was her English accent. Since the serial was shot in New York, the actors at times spoke English in order to give it a natural touch. Among all of the actors, Deepti Gupta’s accent was the most clear, most eloquent and worthy of listening to and imitating. I would often try to copy her style of speaking for improving my spoken English.
Then it happened that HUM TV telecasted “Pehchaan”, which it was doing for the second time, but I was the one who never knew that it was an old drama serial dating back to the year 2006, and infact Deepti Gupta’s first Pakistani drama serial. Her role of Kiran, shy and reserved at first but having grown very strong till the end was well done too like every other role of hers. “Pehchaan”, I must say, was watched by me not only for the sake of Mehreen Jabbar, but equally for Deepti Gupta.
After “Pehchaan”, I started googling Deepti’s works and came to know about her being an international actress working for America, India and Singapore as well. This was when I found “Maanay Na Yeh Dil” which too, I had missed, and then watched especially for her acting.
Till now, I had been watching her drama serials in which she had been playing considerate or such roles which inclined the viewers to sympathise with her, but then “Neeyat” on ARY, written by Larry Pontius turned up. In “Neeyat”, Deepti Gupta’s role was negative, that of an evil girl who steps into the private life of two lovers. But again, through her natural acting, equally realistic for negative roles, Deepti Gupta won the hearts of millions of Pakistanis.
If you need to learn acting, I would suggest you to follow Deepti Gupta’s works, for although she has done a very few plays for Pakistan, but her excellent performances have made all Pakistanis fall for her. If you wish to see what realistic acting is, then again, there is no better choice except for watching Deepti Gupta act. Her Pakistani fans, including me, miss her since she has completely disappeared from the Pakistani screen and are anxious to see her again.
The writer is a student of English Literature at Government College University, Lahore.