Neha Dhupia (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the title of Femina Miss India in year 2002 and represented India at Miss Universe 2002. She has worked in several film productions and has made number of reality show appearances.

Early life

Dhupia was born in (present-day Kochi), India to a Punjabi Sikh family. Her father, Commander Pradip Singh Dhupia, served in the Indian Navy and mother, Manpinder, (Babli Dhupia) is a homemaker. She went to Naval Public School, Cochin then transferred to Navy Children School, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. She graduated from Jesus and Mary College in New Delhi, affiliated to the University of Delhi, with honours in History.

Career

After placing in the pageant, Dhupia intended to pursue a career in the Indian Foreign Service, but turned to acting instead.Her Bollywood debut was with the 2003 film ''Qayamat: City Under Threat'', which had an average performance at the box office. She rose to fame with her title role in ''Julie'' and then appeared in ''Sheesha'' (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, but it did not do well at the box office. Dhupia then starred in films such as ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005) and ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film ''Dus Kahaniyaan'' (2007).In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including ''Chup Chup Ke'' (2006), ''Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), ''Mithya'' (2008), ''Maharathi'' (2008), and ''Singh Is Kinng'' (2008) and then appeared in ''Sheesha'' (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, but it did not do well at the box office. Dhupia then starred in films such as ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005) and ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film ''Dus Kahaniyaan'' (2007).In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including ''Chup Chup Ke'' (2006), ''Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), ''Mithya'' (2008), ''Maharathi'' (2008), and ''Singh Is Kinng'' (2008) and ''Dasvidaniya'' (2008). In 2011, she played Eva Braun in the film ''Dear Friend Hitler'' about Mahatma Gandhi.Dhupia has modeled on the runway for designers such as Rohit Bal and D'damas.In 2016, Dhupia conceptualized and hosted a Bollywood podcast called ''#NoFilterNeha'' on the Indian music app Saavn, in which she interviews Bollywood celebrities. The show received positive reviews, with over 2.3 million listeners. Dhupia debuted season four in November 2019 and planned to expand the podcast into a web series.

Film career

Her Bollywood debut was with the 2003 film ''Qayamat: City Under Threat'', which had an average performance at the box office. She rose to fame with her title role in ''Julie'' and then appeared in ''Sheesha'' (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, but it did not do well at the box office. Dhupia then starred in films such as ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005) and ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film ''Dus Kahaniyaan'' (2007).In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including ''Chup Chup Ke'' (2006), ''Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), ''Mithya'' (2008), ''Maharathi'' (2008), and ''Singh Is Kinng'' (2008) and then appeared in ''Sheesha'' (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, but it did not do well at the box office. Dhupia then starred in films such as ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005) and ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film ''Dus Kahaniyaan'' (2007).In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including ''Chup Chup Ke'' (2006), ''Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), ''Mithya'' (2008), ''Maharathi'' (2008), and ''Singh Is Kinng'' (2008) and ''Dasvidaniya'' (2008). In 2011, she played Eva Braun in the film ''Dear Friend Hitler'' about Mahatma Gandhi.

Personal life and off-screen work

She also helped to raise money for victims of the 2011 Sikkim earthquake. She performed at the GR8 Women's Award 2012. Dhupia is a vegetarian.She participated in the Hiru Golden Film Awards 2014 in Sri Lanka as a special guest along with Bollywood actors such as Sunil Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Anil Kapoor, and actress Bipasha Basu.Dhupia married actor Angad Bedi, the son of former Indian cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi in a private ceremony at a Gurudwara on 10 May 2018. On 18 November 2018, she gave birth to a girl named Mehr Dhupia Bedi. Dhupia was fat-shamed for her post-pregnancy weight gains by certain sections of the media in 2019. On 19 July 2021, she and Angad announced that they are expecting their second child with an Instagram post. She gave birth to her second child, a boy on 3 October 2021 and named him Guriq Singh Dhupia Bedi. She decided to leave ''MTV Roadies''.

Controversy

In March 2020, she was abused on social media after a clip from the reality show MTV Roadies went viral. In the clip, Dhupia berated a male contestant who claimed to have slapped his girlfriend for cheating on him. Dhupia was targeted with abusive comments claiming that she was "hypocritical" since her reaction to a female contestant who said she had slapped four men was not as strong. Her critics accused her of misrepresenting what feminism and gender equality stand for. In a later statement, Dhupia claimed that her reaction had been misrepresented and taken out of context, but that she stood by her opinion that physical abuse can not be tolerated no matter what the purported cause is.