Manisha Koirala almost refused Mani Ratnam’s Bombay as she didn’t want to play a mother’s role: ‘I was told you would be an idiot if…’

“I remember I got an offer of Bombay. I had heard the music, but I had not seen Roja. But I knew that Roja is a big hit. But when I was asked to do Bombay, I was a little apprehensive. I was not wise back then. So there were a lot of norms in Bollywood in those days. Like a heroine cannot do a mother’s role, otherwise a heroine will be typecast forever as a mother. And I used to listen to those things because those are the people who come and tell you that,” she said.

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Manisha recalled that amid all this noise, it was cinematographer Ashok Mehta, whom she had worked with in Saudagar, told her that she would be an “idiot” if she does not take up Bombay. “Ashok Mehta fired me and said, ‘beta, what are you doing? Do you know the kind of filmmaker he is? Do you know the level of good work he has continuously churned out? And his last film was a big commercial success too. You are an idiot if you refuse this film’. And that jolted me. Then mom and me went to Chennai. I did a look test and a photo shoot and then it was  decided that I will play Shaila Banu,” she said.

Manisha said that she was “really happy” that she decided to do this film. “Because that whole story ends with people coming together despite the divisiveness, despite the trouble. I like the philosophy of the film,” she said.

Manisha was last seen in Kartik Aaryan-starrer Shehzada. She will soon be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series Heeramandi.