Manisha is back with bang after a long hiatus

The 40-year-old is also keen on putting her past behind. She was touted as the next big star when she entered the industry with Saudagar. With movies like Khamoshi: The Musical,1942 A Love Story,Akele Hum Akele Tum and Dil Se,she consolidated her position as one of the top actors. This,however,was shortlived. Over a period of time,the actress almost vanished into oblivion,making appearances in insignificant films like Darwaza Band Rakho,Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story,Mumbai Express and Mehbooba.

Now,with some good projects in her kitty,Koirala feels the need to “reassess” her career. “I want to work with reputed directors and producers. Sometimes the scripts are good,but if the financiers and directors aren’t,the film gets messed up,” she says. “I believe that certain decisions that one takes at some point of time and the course of events that follow are completely different. This has happened with me too many times,” says the actress,who now sports a slim look.

With Partho Ghosh’s Ek Second–Jo Zindagi Badal De,starring Jackie Shroff,Koirala is back on familiar ground. She has worked with the team in the superhit Agnisakshi. “I really enjoyed working with Parthoda. When he narrated the subject of Ek Second sometime back,I was slightly apprehensive as I was not keen to work full-time.” But when he returned with the script,she had made up her mind. “It’s almost like a double role. One character I play is slightly timid,more of a day-dreamer,while the other character is a go-getter,” she says and hopes that the script she had read and the film are in tandem.

For the most part of her career,Koirala has experimented with various genres and is keen to continue doing that even today. When Onir mailed her the script of I AM Megha (one of the four segments in the film I AM),the story of a Kashmiri Muslim girl,she was more than delighted to take up the offer. “I have always admired Onir’s work. And this role is something I have not done earlier,” she says.

Over the years,she has come to acquire a sense of maturity. Koirala is happy that her well-wishers and fans remember her for her good work. “That’s the reason I now want to work with Mani Ratnam,Raj Kumar Santoshi,Yash Raj Films and Rajshri Productions,” she says,promising to return to Tinseltown in a couple of months. “Samrat knows about my love for movies. So I will be shuttling between our home in Mumbai and Kathmandu,” she confirms. “I just love films. And I will be doing them till I breathe my last.”