Her 40s have been eventful and enlightening. Actress Manisha Koirala, a cancer survivor, says contrary to common perception that middle-aged female actors get less work in Bollywood, she feels liberated more than ever.
“I think I am more liberated as an artiste in my late 40s. I was having a conversation with Shabana Azmiji where she was saying, ‘As an actress and as a woman, we always want to look good. How did you become so carefree?’ I think the greedy actor in me takes over at times.
“Being a woman, I want to look pretty in every phase of my life but I also love acting. If I have to sacrifice my vanity for a character that I am excited to play, I am ready,” Manisha said.
Having said that, Manisha pointed out that tomorrow if she is offered a role that demands glamour, she will again start working on her looks. “Basically, my priority is the character first. I have done my share of looking glamorous on-screen in many films,” said the actress, who mesmerised audiences with her performance in 1942: A Love Story.
Of late, Manisha has fetched praise for her performance in Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju in which she has played the iconic Nargis Dutt and in a web film Lust Stories.
On Sanju, Manisha said, “I was quite nervous about how people will receive me in the film where I am playing the role of such an icon, Nargis Dutt. I was more worried because I knew how great the rest of the actors were in the film. They were brilliant and I was worried for whether people would notice my performance or not
“I am still one of those actresses who need people’s appreciation to know that I have done the right thing. Even after spending a substantial time in the entertainment business, before the release of the film, I am nervous,” laughed the Khamoshi actress, adding that such nervousness also occurs on the first day of the shoot.
According to her, from her first film till today, a journey of 27 years, she has treated every film like her first film.
“It is never ‘just another film’ for me. It is a new opportunity to act, tell a story,” said the Bombay actress, who has her roots in Nepal.
In Lust Stories, an anthology of four films, Manisha plays a complex woman in a relationship with her on-screen husband’s best friend. She says it was the first time she has worn a swimsuit for a film.
“That was the idea of director Dibakar Banejee. He came saying this is how he wants the scene to be, and my first reaction was like, ‘Why? I mean in my youth, I never wore a swimsuit in films’.”
Manisha said she was initially reluctant to play the role as it was difficult for her to comprehend certain aspects of the character.
“That is where I had to trust the director,” she said.
Did she judge the character for her difficult relationship with her husband and for having an affair with his best friend?
“Well, I went through the dilemma in my head while playing Reena. It is not easy to be non-judgmental about the character I play,” said Manisha as she recounted a conversation with the actor who played the villain in Clockwork Orange.
“I met him after I finished shooting Lust Stories and I had a conversation with him regarding the same. I agreed with what he said. We, as actors, should be non-judgmental about the characters we play on-screen, otherwise we are limiting ourselves.”
Will she accept the role of mother that usually middle-aged women get in Bollywood film?
“I will wait for the right role instead of the typical ones. But I think now cinema is changing and filmmakers, audiences and critics have started appreciating all kinds of cinema.”– IANS
Johny Lever all praises for Back To Dad
Veteran comedian Johny Lever is all praise for the youth-oriented film Back To Dad.
“This is one of the best youth-oriented movies I’ve watched so far. The script of the film is very beautifully done. Back To Dad gives a message that every youngster should learn and this is surely going to leave a very strong impact on the masses,” Johny said in a statement.
Directed by Prabhat Kumar, the film is produced by Anup Gadal under Annora films.
Talking about the film, Johny said, “This film talks about a guy named Joel who along with his friends Samuel and Peter goes astray, falls in love with a chic woman named Abhiya, runs away with her and gets cheated. The second half emphasises on his struggle and how he gets back to his father.”– IANS
Alia Bhatt wraps up Kalank schedule
Actress Alia Bhatt has wrapped up the schedule for her upcoming film Kalank.
Alia recently posted to her Instagram stories and shared a photograph of herself. She captioned the image, “And that’s a schedule wrap for me on Kalank.”
The actress also mentioned that she will start working on her upcoming film Brahmastra, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan as well.
Kalank also features Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha, Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Aditya Roy Kapur. Abhishek Varman is directing the ‘epic drama’, which will hit the screens on April 19, 2019. The film is being produced by Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta and co-produced by Fox Star Studios.– IANS
Akshay on Gold, promoting hockey
Actor Akshay Kumar, who is playing the lead role in his multi-starrer upcoming film Gold, based on hockey, says the game should get more spotlight and encouragement from people as it holds a strong value of history and pride of the country.
Considering the fact that Bollywood has thrown spotlight on hockey with films like Chak De India, upcoming Soorma and Gold, Akshay said making such films will give the sport the attention it deserves.
“Apart from cricket, people should know more about other sports like hockey, kabaddi, football. The audience should know more about Hockey, and it should be encouraged.
“People should know what happened in 1948. How we won the first Olympic gold medal in hockey after the independence of India. I think things also have changed because the government is supporting the sport a lot, I am happy seeing the encouragement,” Akshay said.
Akshay is playing a Bengali character named Tapan Das who had a dream to win the gold medal in hockey.
“I hope after this film, hockey gets the respect that it commands. It is an important game that gave our country the first ever gold medal after independence. So I hope things change after our film,” Akshay said.
Gold is scheduled to release on August 15.
PASSION: Manisha Koirala admits that although being a woman she wants to look pretty every time but she loves acting and has no issues compromising her vanity for passion.
