‘Thank God, directors didn’t forget me’

Manisha Koirala is one of the few mainstream stars to have ventured into non-Hindi movies. She is now busy working for Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh’s Khela

Manisha Koirala, who is now busy working for Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s Khela, is thankful that good directors did not forget her despite a nearly two-year-long sabbatical.

Manisha, who took time off after doing some 60-odd films in various Indian languages, including Bollywood flicks, is one of the few mainstream film stars to have ventured into non-Hindi movies.

"I was bored with the roles offered to me and was waiting for the right offer all this while. I started shooting again in August. Thank God, good directors did not forget me while I was away!" she said.

Akbar Khan’s Taj Mahal: A Love Story will be the first release in months for the actress.

"I utilised the time to do things I wanted to do apart from acting. I learnt moviemaking and indulged in other activities. I even made a short film at New York University," Manisha, who has been associated with films for almost two decades, said in an interview. So, is she now equipped to make a full-length movie? "Not really. I will need to attend a few more classes to learn more about other streams of filmmaking like, say, camerawork," she explained.

Talking about Khela that is still being shot, Manisha said, "It is a very sensitive film. It is about a woman whose filmmaker husband gets busy with his work and she feels unwanted." The actress who made waves in the south with superhits like Mani Ratnam’s Bombay (1994) and Sankar’s Mudhalvan (1999) said Ghosh was open to contributions from everybody.

"I don’t know whether it is the Bengali film industry or Ritu’s movie— everybody, including the clap-boy, tries to be creative. Ritu himself has said that a film is made by everyone involved and not just the director."Compared to that, someone like Mani Ratnam is stricter in terms of contributions. — IANS

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