Manisha Koirala on playing Nargis Dutt in 'Sanju': I’ve rediscovered my love for acting

As Manisha Koirala gears for her next where she essays the role of iconic late actress Nargis Dutt in the upcoming film titled “Sanju”, she opened up in an interview about her life before and after cancer and her future projects.

In the interview, Manisha spoke gladly about her post-recovery phase and said, "I am embracing life with open arms! I’m doing things which I love. I feel I can do a few things, but I’m fully present because I’m enjoying them. I love nature, hiking, trekking, taking long walks... so I’m doing all that."

Manish made her comeback to Hindi films with “Dear Maya”, post-recovery and will be seen next in three upcoming films. Speaking about the experience, Manisha said, "Have you heard of this Italian movie called Il Postino? I love Pablo Neruda’s poetry and this film is about his encounter with a postman, who used to bring his letters. The actor, Massimo Troisi, who played the latter, passed away after the film was shot. I know the value of an actor because cinema and acting is everything for me. If you love your work so much that this could be the last thing you would be doing before you say goodbye to the world, then it’s the best thing. I’ve rediscovered my love for acting."

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Manisha will now be seen in “Sanju” biopic and on the role she said, "There was a trial of Bombay at Ajanta Theatre owned by Dutt Saab. After seeing it, he called me and said, ‘Manisha, you reminded us of Nargis Duttji.’ That was a massive compliment for me! After so many years, I am playing her. But I was not very confident. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do justice to the role. So, I was nervous but Rajji (Rajkumar Hirani) and his team were thoroughly prepared. We did look tests, held discussions and he made me watch documentaries on her. Then I met Priya Dutt, who sent me a book written about her parents. I never got a chance to talk to Baba (Sanjay Dutt) about her, but all this work helped me perform."

On her association with Sanjay Dutt, she said that she is connected to him since her childhood and that she had become her fan when “Rocky” released. She recalled that she was in the sixth or seventh grade at that time. She had stuck up pictures of Sanjay Dutt behind her almirah door.

"Sanju"is a Rajkumar Hirani directorial that is based on the life of actorSanjay Dutt. Apart from Manisha, we will get to see Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza, Ranbir Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and other stars.