Mumbai, Feb 22 (IANS) Veteran actress Neena Gupta, a single mother, says her father helped raise her daughter Masaba, adding that he had turned out to be her backbone during the "most crucial time of my life".

"My father played a very important role in raising my daughter, he especially shifted to Mumbai to help me. I cannot express how thankful I am to him. He was my backbone during the most crucial time of my life," Neena said.

Masaba Gupta is today a successful fashion designer. Neena opened up about raising her on "Indian Idol" season 11.

On the show, after Rohit Raut performed a medley including "Bekhayali" and "Jai Jai Shivshankar", Neena said that just like the young contestant's father, she has also been a single parent.

Appreciating Rohit, the actress said: "I don't know what to say after such a marvellous performance and I feel so lucky to watch such a great performer live."

The show is aired on Sony Entertainment Television.

--IANS nn/vnc