Neelam Kothari On Facing Camera After 25 Years: “My Biggest Fear Was How I Looked”

Neelam said, “I wasn’t sure how audiences would take to me”

Neelam Kothari, who had a successful career in the 90s in Bollywood, made a much-talked about comeback in the Netflix series Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives. Neelam, who reprised her role in the third installment of the series, opened up about her failed marriage and toxic relationship with ex-husband in details on the show. In an exclusive chat with News 18, the actress also addressed the issue of returning to the limelight after 25 years. She said, “Coming back and facing the camera in the beginning was very, very difficult for me because people had seen me on screen 25 years ago. I was very conscious of the fact that yes, I had become older and my biggest fear and insecurity was how I looked. Will people accept me? I have aged as well. I was very insecure about that. I wasn’t sure how audiences would take to me.”

Recalling details of her hostile marriage to ex-husband Rishi Sethia, Neelam said on the show, “I was told to wear Indian clothes, give up non-veg, and don’t drink. I was fine with everything, but changing my identity, that is something I was not okay with. I reached a point where I questioned myself, ‘How am I allowing this?'”

She also added how she would  try to hide her identity as an actress to make her marriage work. “I used to be in a supermarket or out for lunch, and someone would come up to me and ask, ‘Are you Neelam the actress?’ I had to say no,” she recounted.

When asked if these past instances still haunt her or if has she finally made peace with them, Neelam said, “Yes, of course. I have dealt with whatever highs and lows I have had in life. It’s not been easy. But, I think women who overcome certain situations always become stronger and are winners.”

Neelam is known for her work in films like Gharana, Do Qaidi, Ghar Ka Chiraag, Mandira, Pyar Ka Karz, to name a few.