<p>Veteran actor Neena Gupta says she had made a pilot for the potential follow-up to her acclaimed television show <em>Saans</em>, which was "rejected" by the channel.</p>.<p>The incident is addressed in the second season of <em>Masaba Masaba</em>, the semi-fictional series based on the lives of Gupta and her designer-actor daughter Masaba Gupta. Directed by Sonam Nair, season two started streaming on Netflix last week.</p>.<p>Gupta said she had many meetings with the channel about three-four years ago, but the second installment didn't move forward as they didn't like the pilot.</p>.<p>"I told Sonam and the writers that this is what happened to me. I made a pilot for <em>Saans 2</em> and it was rejected. And the way they behaved was not very nice. This is a reality which happened to me and that's why I wanted to put it in (<em>Masaba Masaba</em>)," the 63-year-old told PTI.</p>.<p>In 2019, the actor had announced plans to make season two of <em>Saans</em>, a 1998 relationship drama which she starred in, wrote and directed. Also featuring Kanwaljit Singh and Kavita Kapoor, the show aired on Star Plus and ran for over 150 episodes.</p>.<p>Through her character in <em>Masaba Masaba</em>, the makers tackle thorny issues like casual sexism, mansplaining, and ageism.</p>.<p>Gupta said all the characters in the show, including hers, represent a ray of hope.</p>.<p>"It's important in today's times to give hope to people," she added.</p>.<p>Popular TV actor Ram Kapoor plays Gupta's former co-star and flame Shekhar Mirza in <em>Masaba Masaba 2</em>.</p>.<p>The actor said she had a lot of fun working with Kapoor, known for shows such as <em>Bade Achhe Lagte Hain</em> and <em>Kasamh Se</em>.</p>.<p>"Ram was very sweet. I told him 'Thank you very much, you worked with me although you are younger than me' and that doesn't happen often," she added.</p>.<p>Also starring Neil Bhoopalam and Rytasha Rathore, <em>Masaba Masaba</em> is showrun by Ashvini Yardi of Viniyard Films.</p>.<p>Kusha Kapila, Kareema Barry, Barkha Singh, and Armaan Khera round out the cast with cameos by Singh, <em>Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2</em> star Kartik Aaryan, actor Neelam Kothari, supermodel-actor Milind Soman, and the late veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri. </p>
<p>Veteran actor Neena Gupta says she had made a pilot for the potential follow-up to her acclaimed television show <em>Saans</em>, which was "rejected" by the channel.</p>.<p>The incident is addressed in the second season of <em>Masaba Masaba</em>, the semi-fictional series based on the lives of Gupta and her designer-actor daughter Masaba Gupta. Directed by Sonam Nair, season two started streaming on Netflix last week.</p>.<p>Gupta said she had many meetings with the channel about three-four years ago, but the second installment didn't move forward as they didn't like the pilot.</p>.<p>"I told Sonam and the writers that this is what happened to me. I made a pilot for <em>Saans 2</em> and it was rejected. And the way they behaved was not very nice. This is a reality which happened to me and that's why I wanted to put it in (<em>Masaba Masaba</em>)," the 63-year-old told PTI.</p>.<p>In 2019, the actor had announced plans to make season two of <em>Saans</em>, a 1998 relationship drama which she starred in, wrote and directed. Also featuring Kanwaljit Singh and Kavita Kapoor, the show aired on Star Plus and ran for over 150 episodes.</p>.<p>Through her character in <em>Masaba Masaba</em>, the makers tackle thorny issues like casual sexism, mansplaining, and ageism.</p>.<p>Gupta said all the characters in the show, including hers, represent a ray of hope.</p>.<p>"It's important in today's times to give hope to people," she added.</p>.<p>Popular TV actor Ram Kapoor plays Gupta's former co-star and flame Shekhar Mirza in <em>Masaba Masaba 2</em>.</p>.<p>The actor said she had a lot of fun working with Kapoor, known for shows such as <em>Bade Achhe Lagte Hain</em> and <em>Kasamh Se</em>.</p>.<p>"Ram was very sweet. I told him 'Thank you very much, you worked with me although you are younger than me' and that doesn't happen often," she added.</p>.<p>Also starring Neil Bhoopalam and Rytasha Rathore, <em>Masaba Masaba</em> is showrun by Ashvini Yardi of Viniyard Films.</p>.<p>Kusha Kapila, Kareema Barry, Barkha Singh, and Armaan Khera round out the cast with cameos by Singh, <em>Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2</em> star Kartik Aaryan, actor Neelam Kothari, supermodel-actor Milind Soman, and the late veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri. </p>