Badhaai Ho, Mirzapur actor was once asked to play Manisha Koirala’s body double: ‘Mani Ratnam came and asked if I would wear her clothes’

While she is now known for her significant roles in films and web series, she once appeared as Manisha Koirala's body double in Dil Se.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | August 8, 2025 09:27 AM IST

3 min read

Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in Dil Se.

Actors in the entertainment industry often go through a struggle phase before they achieve success in the movies. During this phase, some might have to go through tough financial situations, and for others, this struggle could be about playing smaller roles in films even when they are capable of doing much more. Actor Sheeba Chaddha, who is known for her work in web series like Mirzapur, Bandish Bandits, and more recently, Bakaiti and Rangeen, has appeared in some popular films as well. But, when she started out in the movies, she was asked to play Manisha Koirala’s body double in Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.

In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Sheeba recalled working in the 1998 film, which was her first release. She said that while her role was significantly smaller, she was quite grateful for it. “I had almost no role. It’s like you blink and… I have forgotten what the role was, it was literally like that but the fact of getting to go to Dalhousie and shooting there… Shah Rukh Khan is looking at you….” she shared.

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She then recalled the snow of Dalhousie and shared that the team of the film needed Manisha Koirala for a shot but she wasn’t present, so they asked Sheeba to fill in. “Manisha wasn’t there when I went to shoot. In fact, one day, I remember she had gone somewhere and there was snow in Dalhousie. There was one very important shot that they needed to take, where she was supposed to walk in the snow so Mani Ratnam himself had come and asked me if I was okay to wear Manisha’s costume and would I be okay to walk as her,” she shared.

Sheeba shared that it was very nice of Mani to come and ask this himself when he could have sent any one of his assistants for the job. “I am saying he needn’t have come yaar. He could have asked Shaad… Shaad Ali was his assistant then, but it was so generous and wonderful of him to come,” she said. Soon after this, Sheeba was seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam where she had a bigger role.

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