In the week since Masaba Masaba opened to mixed reviews, the show's muse says she has been flooded with messages on social media. "We wanted to deliver a series that is snackable," says Masaba Gupta, whose life forms the foundation for the Netflix offering.

Shouldering a six-part series can be unnerving for someone who has never flirted with acting before, but the designer is assured in front of the camera. "After seeing the first cut, my mom [Neena Gupta] said I was good. I passed the acting test because I had the common sense to not get over-ambitious. With this show, I wanted to shatter the idea that designers faff in the name of work. People told me they didn't know fashion requires work. Secondly, it's necessary to humanise celebrities; they have their own hardships. The show depicts the unfortunate fact that women, no matter how successful, aren't taken seriously."