Manisha Koirala is upset with the vandalism and assault that took place on location in Jaipur during the shoot of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati.
Still in disbelief over the occurrence, Manisha says, “I can’t believe this can happen in this day and age of civilised interaction. If people have an objection to the shooting, they could have settled the matter with talks. Or they could’ve gone to court. Rather than discuss, they got down to physical assault; I find that very disturbing. How could this happen to an artiste of such extreme talent as Sanjay Bhansali?”
Manisha also raises an important point of the abject lack of security for artistes in the country. “Anyone can barge in any time, anywhere, and do anything,” she exclaims. “It’s frightening. What happened to Sanjay should never happen. He’s a very intense and passionate artiste. I remember his passion during Khamoshi: The Musical. We were on the same wavelength throughout the film’s making. It was one of my most memorable experiences.”
After her illness, Manisha has now completed a thriller in Kannada, and an experimental film called Dear Maya in Hindi. She is now set to work on the Sanjay Dutt biopic, where she plays Nargis Dutt’s role.
Says Manisha, “It’s very important for me to work for films I believe in. I’ve worked with dream directors like Sanjay, Mani Ratnam, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Raj Kumar Santoshi. Then, I did some really bad films in the ’90s. Failure has taught me to become cautious. Today, I’m working with a dream director like Raj Kumar Hirani again.”
