Manisha Koirala recently shared the difficulties and hardships female actors faced in Bollywood during the 90s. The actor, who is known for being candid about the Hindi film industry, recounted an encounter with a male photographer. In an interview with Filmfare, Manisha disclosed how the senior photographer told her off for refusing to wear a bikini for a photoshoot.  

Manisha on her 90s experience as a female actor

Manisha, while sharing her experience told, “Very early on in my career I was asked to go and take photographs, and there was this very famous photographer. I went with my mom, and initially, that photographer said things like, ‘You are the next superstar and this and that.’ Cut to him bringing a two-piece bikini to me and asking me to wear it. I told him, ‘Sir, I wear this when I go to the beach or for a swim, but if this is the way I have to get into the movies, I don’t want it, and I am not wearing that.'”

She further said, “I told him either you shoot me fully clothed otherwise I am… ‘ I remember he gave me a big dialogue. He said, ‘Jo mitti pighalne se sharmati ho uske murti kaise banaye (The clay that refuses to melt, how do I make a statue from it)’. I have not forgotten that. That's how the mentality was of some of the people, not everybody. The same person did photograph me when I was a big celebrity and said, “Oh, I knew you were going to be a big star. Not to be mean to the person, but their conscience level was that. Their exposure was that, so they behaved like that.”

Manisha Koirala's acting career

Manisha started her acting career with a Nepali romantic-drama called Pheri Bhetaula. She then made her Bollywood debut in Subhash Ghai's Saudagar (1991) and went on to star in popular Indian films such as Dhanwan (1993), 1942: A Love Story (1994), Bombay (1995), Agni Sakshi (1996), Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), Dil Se.. (1998), and Company (2002). After some time away from the industry, Manisha returned with the anthology film Lust Stories (2018) and also played Nargis Dutt in Sanju (2018). Her most recent movie release was Shehzada (2023), and she received acclaim for her OTT debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024), where she portrayed the character Mallikajaan in a story set in pre-partition India. The epic show also features Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Fardeen Khan and others.

Heeramandi has been renewed for the second season. The first installment is available for streaming on Netflix.

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