Masaba Gupta, the well-known fashion designer and actress, recently shared her difficult experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expecting her first child, Masaba recalled the time when she was struggling financially, to the point of not having Rs 12,000 to pay her cook. The daughter of veteran actress Neena Gupta revealed that during one of the darkest phases of her life, she had to close five of her stores within just two months, leaving her with only Rs 2 lakh in her bank account. 


When Masaba didn't have Rs 12000 to pay her cook


In a candid conversation with Faye D’Souza, Masaba spoke about how the pandemic hit her hard, both personally and professionally. She recalled, “In 2020, when COVID hit, it was the worst time of my life. I don’t think I had even Rs 12,000 to pay to my cook. It was that bad. In March, 2020, the lockdown happened and we thought it was mostly for a day or two, and it was extended to 14 days. In those 14 days, my life completely turned around.” 


Masaba, who was in Goa with her now-husband Satyadeep Mishra during the lockdown, remembered the moment her business head delivered the grim news. “I think it was end of March or the beginning of April when my business head said, ‘There is no money now. It’s done. Nobody is buying anything.’ Fashion was at the bottom of the food chain at that time,” she said. 


Five stores of House of Masaba were shut down


In response, Masaba and her team quickly adapted. With artisans stuck in the store during the lockdown, she had them use the available fabric to make masks. “Even if it makes us just Rs 20,000, its alright. Make something. Some money should keep coming. And it did, a little bit. I remember during that time from 2 pm to 5pm in the afternoon, I would be on calls, hearing the brand will shutdown on July 10. The dates would keep changing. Sometimes July 15, sometimes August. House of Masaba was wrapping up. We were on calls with malls, every store, landlords, requesting them to reduce the rent. Some people were very kind. We were so bad that we took our security deposits back from some people. We were in the middle of a crazy expansion. I had my investors on call, who said you should think of wrapping up. We don’t think this is going to work and there is going to be a different world post-COVID.” 


The stress took an emotional toll on Masaba, who admitted, “I remember crying after every call. My business head was confident, he was sure something would work out. But, we shut down five stores in two months. Some were franchises. Some were company owned. I think I had some Rs 2 lakhs in the bank account. So we thought we will hold on to that Rs 2 lakhs, keep making masks and keep our focus and cut our losses.” 


How things turned around for Masaba


Just when things seemed bleakest, a surprising opportunity came her way. In August, Netflix informed her that they were planning to release Masaba Masaba, the semi-autobiographical series based on her life. 


“I was shocked. It was amid COVID. They sent a crew over to Goa, we did some marketing and a lot of things virtually. I was nervous. I didn’t know if anyone would watch it. I didn’t think if anybody had the temperament at that time.”,” Masaba said.  


When Masaba Masaba was released on August 20, things began to turn around. “My sales head called me and said, ‘We did sales on the website. I think we did some couple of lakhs and suddenly I had some power. I think from then on, I just went with it. People started to watch the show, they started to discover the brand. Masaba Masaba saved me in a time where I didn’t know what else to do. A year after that, things stabilised and I didn’t have to shut my label down”, she added.