Gupta entered the Femina Miss India contest in 2007, where she placed third and won the Miss India International title and later represented India at the Miss International pageant.[4] Post her debut, Gupta has received praises for her portrayal in the political drama Chakravyuh (2012), but her performance in the comedy film Humshakals (2014) met with negative reviews. Her highest-grossing releases came with the horror thriller Raaz 3D (2013), the crime drama Rustom (2016), and the action-adventure Baadshaho (2017).
Early life and work
Esha Gupta was born on 28 November 1985 in New Delhi.[1][5] Her father is a retired Air Force Officer and her mother is a homemaker.[6] She has a sister named Neha. She spent most of her childhood in Dehradun, Hyderabad and Delhi.[7] Gupta has completed her graduation in Mass Communication from the School of Communication, Manipal University, Manipal.[8]
Gupta participated in Femina Miss India in 2007, where she won Miss Photogenic[9] and came in 3rd to go on to compete in Miss India International.[10] She featured in the Kingfisher Calendar in 2010.[11] Later she pursued a career in Bollywood.[12]
Career
Debut and early work (2012–2017)
Gupta at an event in 2014
Gupta made her Bollywood debut with Mahesh Bhatt's Jannat 2 in 2012 opposite Emraan Hashmi in the lead role.
[13] For her debut performance, Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said, "Debutante Esha Gupta enchants you with her captivating charm. She appears a tad unrefined at places, nonetheless she handles her part assertively."[14]Martin D'Souza of Glam Sham wrote, "As for the debutante, Esha Gupta, I guess she may have to enroll herself into an acting school."[15] Gaurav Malani stated, "Esha Gupta, who looks a mix between Lara Dutta and Isha Koppikar, is merely there for the glam quotient."[16] The film was a success at the box office, earning ₹430 million (US$5.2 million) domestically and thus brought in more recognition for Gupta. Later, Gupta signed Vikram Bhatt's Raaz 3D alongside her Jannat 2 co-star, Emraan Hashmi and Bipasha Basu, Gupta received mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, film critic Komal Nahta noted, "Esha Gupta is stiff as Sanjana but does much better towards the end (when she almost goes berserk)".[17][18]India Today wrote, "Both Bipasha and Esha get liberal scope to show off booty. A Bhatt film where the heroines don't get to flaunt it is unimaginable, after all, Bipasha looks hot in her starring role but Esha reveals a few raw edges".[19]Raaz 3D performed well at box office within first three days of its release with collections in the vicinity of 360 million.[20] Her third film of the year, Chakravyuh, was invited to premiere at London Film Festival.[21]Sukanya Verma noted, "Esha's character makes zero contribution to whatever scenes she has."[22]
Gupta appeared in a cameo in Gori Tere Pyaar Mein.[23] In 2014, she was seen in Sajid Khan's Humshakals alongside Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Bipasha Basu and Tamannaah. Box Office India declared it a "disaster".[24][25] Gupta played a high society woman in the 2016 film Rustom. It became a box office success grossing over ₹210 crore (US$26 million) worldwide.[26]Mumbai Mirror stated, "Gupta steals the show (unintentionally) with her OTT makeup and her misplaced expressions."[27] Gupta had three releases in 2017. She played the main antagonist in action film Commando 2, which was a moderate box-office success.[28] She then appeared in Baadshaho opposite Hashmi, in their third film together.[29] She then made her Telugu and Tamil debut with the bilingual film Veedevadu.[30]
Further career and expansion (2018–present)
Gupta at the sets of High Fever… Dance Ka Naya Tevar in 2018
Gupta expanded to web shows in 2020. She made her web debut with RejctX's second season.[35] She then appeared in Nakaab in 2021. In 2022, she played Bobby Deol's image-maker in the third season of Indian Hindi-language crime drama web series Aashram. Hindustan Times wrote, "Esha Gupta looks good as Sonia but the show under-utilises her."[36] Gupta will next appear in Ameesha Patel's much delayed Desi Magic. She also has Hera Pheri 3 and File No. 323 in the pipeline.[37]
Activism
Esha is seen participating in environmental initiatives[38] including “Beach Cleanup Drives”,[39] “Walk for saving the Mangroves”,[40] protecting the forests.[41] She is also associated with Surman Sansthan towards girl child upliftment and education.[42] She also supports Sealegacy[43][non-primary source needed] to raise awareness towards saving Shark species from extinction.
Personal life and public image
Gupta in 2017
Gupta is dating Spain-based Manuel Campos Guallar.[44] She is a vegan. Gupta said at the time that "being vegetarian saved the lives of animals and she thought it was a healthy way for both humans and the planet to embrace vegetarianism."[45]
In January 2019, footballer Alex Iwobi was the subject of alleged racism from Indian actress Gupta, an Arsenal ambassador. Gupta chose to share a screengrab of a WhatsApp conversation in which a friend mocked Iwobi as a "gorilla" and "Neanderthal" who "evolution had stopped for". Gupta later apologised.[51]
Filmography
Films
Key
†
Denotes productions that have not yet been released
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