EXCLUSIVE: Sanjay Gupta’s wife Anuradha Gupta ECSTATIC after winning Mrs World International 2024; reveals how she met her hubby: “While I was in college, he asked my friends to be introduced to a beautiful girl. My friends felt that I fit the bill”

Sanjay Gupta’s wife Anuradha Gupta recently won the Mrs World International 2024 and as expected, the lovely couple are on cloud nine. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke with Anuradha about her big win and a lot more.

How has your life changed since you won the Mrs World International 2024 pageant? Life is exactly the same as it was before I left for the competition. Now I just have a crown on my head! Earlier, I always thought I was the queen but now, I am actually a queen now! (laughs)

And now, I am back to looking after my home and back to looking after my kids. A few things are trickling in but otherwise, there’s not much of a difference.

What prompted you to participate in Mrs World International 2024? I am an Instagram junkie. I was going through my page and a post about Mrs World International just popped up. And it was my dream to walk the ramp. Hence, when this message popped up, I was like ‘Why not?’. Also, there were no criteria, which is usually a norm in the fashion industry. One of the questions that the judge asked me during the audition was (why did I opt for Mrs World) when I am from the film industry and I have so many platforms. But with so many platforms, there’s always a size constraint. And I love my food and I found love in Sanjay when I was 19. That whole concept of losing weight and being thin for the ramp was not on the agenda. Mrs Barkha Nangia (Pageant Director, Mrs World International 2024) has opened up the doors for anybody and everybody. Hence, I decided to go for it.

How many participants were there? There were a total of 168 women who were divided into two categories – below 40 and above 40. I fell into the latter category. It was such an amazing experience to interact with women from all walks of life. Women running Rs. 100 crores companies also signed up. They had left work for 5 days and had participated in the competition. It was fantastic. There was no sense of competition. We were told on day 1 that we should not be here to make friends and that we should be competitive. But we ended up making fond associations.

How did your kids react to your win? My kids are on top of the world. My daughter can’t wait to get back to school and show off in front of her friends that her mother is a queen (laughs)!

How has Sanjay Gupta reacted to your victory? I have never asked Sanjay for anything. I have always informed him, always (smiles). I have always coloured my hair blue, green, red, orange, pink, purple and now blonde and he’s completely fine with it. And he was very supportive when I told him about participating in Mrs World International 2024. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would have done this. I prepared a lot for it, in terms of my workout, my diet, etc. A lot of time went into it and Sanjay was more than happy for me. He gave the kids attention and looked after them.

You married Sanjay Gupta, got separated and remarried him in 2009. How do you look back at your bond with him? I was 19 when I met him and I got married for the first time when I was 22. It lasted six years and it’s been 14 years since we got married again. It’s going fantastic. By the way, every time, I say something positive, I feel like I am giving a Mrs World speech (laughs)! But on a serious note, it has been a great journey with Sanjay.

I remember reading Sanjay Gupta’s interview where he mentioned how his pet dogs were thrilled that you were back in the house (after your second marriage)… Yes. We lost both those puppies, sadly and I have got new ones. So, the ones who got us together are no more.

By the way, the way you keep colouring your hair is so cool… Thank you! I have been through all the possible colours. I am even surprised that I have hair on my head (laughs)!

You were also a producer on Sanjay Gupta’s last film, Mumbai Saga (2021)… Yes, I was a producer in all his films. And as a producer, I am a tough nut to crack! At the same time, I am not 100% part of his film work. I am around the periphery.

Do you enjoy the action, gritty films that he makes? What’s your favourite genre? My favourite genre is horror. But I love a good action film. And Sanjay is superb with his work. There are, however, a lot of times that we don’t agree with each other. I am his biggest and hardest critic. Nevertheless, I love the way he passionately makes his films. And I have seen so many of his shoots that the magic of cinema has now gone. Growing up for us, films were magical. Until I was 12, I didn’t know that the actors didn’t sing for themselves. I had no idea that there were playback singers. I also assumed that actors in superhero films flew by themselves (laughs)! So, all these things have gone. It’s also how my kids see films today. They perhaps don’t feel the magic of the film industry or films being made as everything is out there for them to see.

Is it because they have access to filmmaking? Yes, and also, today one can go on YouTube and find out how films were made, the behind-the-scenes trivia, etc.

How did you meet Sanjay Gupta? I was born and brought up in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. After completing my schooling in Ooty, I moved to Mumbai after my mother relocated here for work. While I was in college, he asked my friends to be introduced to a beautiful girl. My friends felt that I fit the bill! They told me about him and that he’s a film director. To which I replied, ‘Yuck, so tacky’! And my life is only about films now (laughs)!

Were you both in the same college? No. I was in Sophia’s and he passed out from Sydenham. He’s eight years older than I am. His friend was dating my friend from college. She introduced me to Sanjay and that’s how we got together.

Do you have any plans to act after your Mrs World victory? Also, I noticed that you are good with one-liners. Do you have any plans to write scripts or dialogues? I love to write but I write a lot of poetry. Acting is no way happening. When I went in front of the judges at the Mrs World International 2024, I froze. I had planned a whole long answer but I forgot all about it the moment I went on the stage.

Sanjay Gupta should also act in films, in my opinion… We have told him so many times to appear in a cameo. He tells us, ‘I am not Subhash Ghai’!

I mean, he should have a proper, lengthy role in a film… He’s a great actor. Have you ever heard him narrate a script? But he’s not interested at all in acting. He just likes to give instructions. Behind the scenes is where he and I prefer to be (smiles).

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