Manisha Koirala on Heeramandi: ‘I waited 28 years for Sanjay Leela Bhansali to call me…’

Also Read: Manisha Koirala on battling cancer, working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali: ‘I have been given a second life’

Manisha Koirala, who worked in films like Bombay, Dil Se and Mann, among others, was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. She was declared cancer-free in 2015. The actor, who has since mostly stayed away from the limelight and acted in only two films, Sanju and Shehzada, says life away from films has changed her outlook towards life.

“When I was younger and did Saudagar — which was my first film — I was way different from what I am now. With years and the experiences that we have, we evolve. Being away from the industry has helped me look at life differently. As actors, we see ourselves and the world in a different light because the spotlight is always on us, but when you’re no longer the centre of attention and living on the periphery, your perspective changes. It has been a great spiritual experience and awareness. Being away from films was an enriching experience for me both as an actor as well as a person,” she shared.

 

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Speaking about her character in Heeramandi, Koirala said Mallikajaan is unlike any other character that she has played in the past. She credits Bhansali for the perfection with which it comes out on screen. “It was possible only because of a genius like Sanjay Leela Bhansali who was behind the camera. He directed each of us so minutely and with a lot of detail that we looked so good. We don’t know what we have done. He extracts it from you. I have always been a director’s actor, and cinema is a director’s medium, but when you’re on a Bhansali set, you have to give your extra.”

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, set in British India, follows Mallikajaan, who rules over an elite house of courtesans. But tensions rise when Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), the daughter of her late nemesis, returns. The all-female cast also includes Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, and Sanjeeda Shaikh, with Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, and Taha Shah rounding out the male cast. The series will start streaming on May 1.