‘Manisha Koirala insisted on doing Chotti si Love Story, said I won’t take money,’ claims filmmaker Shashilal K Nair: ‘I wanted a model-like girl’

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He added, “I discussed this with her. It was supposed to be a film where a boy stalks a girl with a binocular. Now for someone to do that, the girl should have those kind of looks. How can she play the role? The film needed scenes like her changing and stuff. We had a long meeting during the lunch break. We decided, for close-up shots, we can use Manisha’s shots and for long shot we can use duplicate because I didn’t want to hurt her and tell her please go back. She was co-operative and helpful because both Manisha and the duplicate shared the same costume.”

Previously, speaking to Times Now, Shashilal said, “The only reason I see for her to create such uproar is she wants to get into politics. It’s the only way I can make sense of this madness. I never wanted this ugly situation. Manisha is like family. I wanted to make a film with newcomers .I may have succeeded in bringing in the audience to see my small film. But it’s like getting a blow in the stomach and getting one sweet in compensation. I cannot enjoy the sweet. My life is in turmoil. Memories going back 15 years have been ruined. Manisha and I can never be friends again, though I wish we could be. I wish she didn’t make this an ego issue.”

Manisha, however, refused the claims of her attempting to get the film banned. She told Times Now, “I want the shots with the duplicates removed. And I think the posters displaying bums and breasts are in very bad taste. Also, now that the film is making profits everywhere, why should I not take any fees? I want a share of the profits.”