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Mmmanisha

Manisha Koirala. Click for bigger pic!

She comes from a family that produced a prime minister of Nepal but she isn't the aristocratic lady you would expect if you kept that in mind. Known to be rather out-spoken, Manisha Koirala has had an eventful time in Bollywood. She's now in the doldrums after the failure of Achanak, Maharaja and Dil Se last year but no one would dare think, as they once were quick to, that she's out of the reckoning.

Manisha was educated in Benares and may have ended up as a member of the aristocracy if she hadn't been spotted by producer Subhash Ghai. Her innocent, clean looks fetched her the heroine's role in Saudagar.

The film didn't kickstart her career but it certainly caused a rift between her and Ghai, a controversy that even had political implications. Her aggressiveness was rather new to film-makers used to docile compliance from newcomers.

A still from Dil Se. Click for bigger pic!

She got a few big banners immediately, Feroz Khan's Yalgaar, Manmohan Desai's Anmol and Pahlaj Nihalani's Love Letter. All the directors were known to make stars, but they couldn't make Manisha.

It was only after Mani Ratnam's Bombay that things began changing for her.

"In the later stages of Bombay I felt I could act," she said later. It was then that she realised that if the director didn't motivate her or the script didn't meet her stringent standards she just couldn't perform.

"I can't push myself if I feel my role makes no difference to a film," she says. "Or else the script should be so strong that a weak director does not matter."

A still from Kachche Dhaage. Click for bigger pic!

Today Manisha feels she is certain of herself and understands other people pretty well too. So she is not seeking understanding any more, just good roles. She has managed pretty well against some stiff competition from the spontaneous Kajols, the vivacious Karismas and the rest. Manisha relied on both her gentle feminine presence on screen and her formidable talent. Lata Khubchandani spoke to her.

Did you show signs of becoming an actress as a child?

Oh, I remember that when I saw this film, Masoom I was so inspired by Lakdi ki kathi that I locked the door and forced my mother to be the judge while I performed the whole song for her.

Any other past-times?

I write a bit and I keep a diary, mainly because it's fun to read a few years later. I used to write stories and poems.

Click for bigger pic!

Nowadays it's very easy to make up stories because... working in movies and you learn quite automatically how a story progresses. I write less today because poetry-writing requires that I feel just right and am by myself -- which does happen often.

How is Manisha as a person?

Extremely dreamy but practical and positive too. I always see the positive side of everything. Being in films allows me to meet so many people to touch so many lives I see that as a positive fall out acting.

Your plus points as an actress?

That I can feel emotions. I feel pain and happiness very intensely because I am very sensitive. That's why when I get roles I can empathise with I perform better, like in1942, A Love Story. I come from a family of freedom fighters so I could identify with the role quite naturally. So also the roles in Bombay and Khamoshi. I have major minus points though -- I'm very lazy, I take things for granted, I'm a daydreamer.

A still from Bombay. Click for bigger pic!

Roles you'd like to do if you had a choice?

The Meg Ryan, Meryl Streep kind of roles. I'd like to do both comedy and drama. I know I am a little weak in comedy so I'd like to prove to myself that I can do it.

Last year all your films fared badly, Achanak, Dil Se and Maharaja?

Yes, we all expected something from Dil Se and it's easy to give reasons now about what went wrong. Some say it was priced too high. Maharaja too was a good film but it didn't work.

Do these flops make a difference today or not?

Not much. I still get good offers and, personally, I've come to the point where I don't care if a film is a hit or not so long as I have done my best and people acknowledge that. The film's fate is not left to me.

Click for bigger pic!

You have done the much-postponed Lal Badshah with Amitabh Bachchan. How was that experience?

(Laughs immoderately) You can't imagine but I've chased his car as a kid and to think that I am cast opposite him... I must admit that he goes out of his way to make us feel comfortable He never makes us conscious that he is the big man. It's been great fun.

Isn't the popular play All the Best being made into a film?

Yes, it's called Raju Raja Ram -- it's a completely commercial comic film. In the play, the girl has no role to speak of but my role is being worked on and developed.

What about the future?

I could do a lot more as an actress. At least now I feel I know how to go about it. When I started I didn't have any training. But I learnt in the best way possible -- by jumping in and learning as I went along.