WRITTEN IN THE STARS

BEILA GUPTA has turned what many see as the winding-down years into a bold new beginning. What's her mantra for living life out loud? Sharon D'Silva finds out

- Sharon D'Silva

Seventy-year-old Beila Gupta is a spirited member of several WhatsApp groups — one of them cheekily named 'Sly Grannies'. The premise? Simple: whenever someone in the group hits a milestone birthday — think 50, 60, 70 — they pack their bags and turn the celebration into an adventure. Their latest escapade took them all the way to the picturesque city of Almaty in Kazakhstan. But globe-trotting is just one chapter of Beila's story. In what she proudly calls the 'second innings' of her life, she's made a striking foray into modelling and acting, with memorable appearances in Murder Mubarak (2024), Abhay (2019), Call Me Bae (2024), and her most recent release, The Royals (2025). Add to that her spot as a finalist in the Content Creator category of LIVA Miss Diva 2024, and you've got a woman who isn't just challenging age norms, but redefining what it means to begin again - brilliantly.

For many, stepping into such a demanding industry later in life might seem intimidating. But, for Beila Gupta, it felt as if all the pieces of her life were finally falling into place. In 1984, she launched her own salon - a passion project that her daughter Simran took over in 2000, marking an impressive 40 years last year. Four years after starting the salon, Beila harnessed her natural flair for fashion and began dress designing, eventually opening her own boutique. She shut it down in 2000 to fulfill another dream: travelling the world with her husband.