At 47, Manisha Koirala Reinvents Herself With 'Sanju' and 'Lust Stories'

Cancer survivor Manisha Koirala has made an impressive comeback post her recovery, leaving the audience wanting for more. She is being applauded for her roles in the recently released Sanjay Dutt biopic 'Sanju' and Netflix Series, 'Lust Stories.'

In an interview with IANS, the '1942 A Love Story' actress said that the only thing that matters to her today is to play her characters with conviction. The pressure to look good doesn't seem to bother her anymore, reported HT.

More about acting than looks

At 47, the actress feels liberated, more than ever. “I think I am more liberated as an artist 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," she said.

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“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,” she added.

She also said that if her character demands her to look glamorous, she'll work on that too. But her priority is her character, not her looks anymore.

On donning a swimsuit for 'Lust Stories'

The debate on her looks intensified after the Dil Se actress was seen in a swimsuit onscreen, for the very first time ever in the Netflix's 'Lust Stories'.

"That was the idea of director Dibakar Banerjee. 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."

"Then Dibakar put his best effort and logic to convince me saying, ‘People have not seen you in a swimsuit on-screen and that is precisely the reason we should do it.’ Well, then I took it up," she said.

The actress plays the role of a woman who is in a relationship with her husband’s best friend in the series. She revealed that she was reluctant to play the role as she was unable to comprehend certain aspects of the character.

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Manisha's role in 'Sanju'

Koirala played the role of Nargis Dutt, Sanjay Dutt's mother, in his biopic 'Sanju', directed by Rajkumar Hirani.

She said, “I was quite nervous about how people will receive me in the film where I am playing the role of such an icon as Nargis Dutt. I was more worried because I knew how great the rest of the actors were in the film. They were brilliant and the worry was whether people would notice my performance among those great performances."

The actress who has been in the industry for nearly 27 years now, said, “It is never ‘just another film’ for me. It is a new opportunity to act, tell a story". She said that every film is like the first film for her.

“It is never ‘just another film’ for me. It is a new opportunity to act, tell a story.”

On the roles she would like to take up, she said that she'll wait for the right roles. "But I think now cinema is changing and filmmakers, audiences and critics have started appreciating all kinds of cinema. Meaty roles are written for middle-aged women. If I am offered something like that, I will surely do it,” she said.

The 'Bombay' actress will turn 48 on August 16. More power to her.

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Kriti Dwivedi is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv