Manisha Koirala has never hesitated to discuss her professional and personal experiences in Bollywood. In a recent interview with Filmfare, the actor discussed the misogyny that dominated the Indian cinema business in the 1990s. Manisha revealed that female actresses were required to deny using alcohol and conceal their dating life at the time.
Recalling her experiences in 1990s, the actress said, “At the time of Saudagar, there was a coke mixed with vodka, and I was told by people around me not not tell people that I am drinking vodka because actresses are not meant to be drinking alcohol. I was told to say that I'm drinking coke. I learnt that new thing. I told my mom, ‘I am drinking coke', and she knew I put vodka in it and she said, ‘Listen, if you are drinking vodka, say you are drinking vodka, don't say you are drinking coke, don't lie for such small little things'. If I was dating somebody, I am dating somebody. You want to judge me? Go ahead and judge me but that's me, this is me and I lead my life on my own terms.”
She further opined, “I faced some flak for it because in those days, the heroes could have many girlfriends, and they were called macho men, but the actress was supposed to be this, ‘no no no, nobody is touching me’ and ‘we are very untouched.’ It was also misunderstood that (she is) very easy or easy girl. But I took it on my stride. Just because I have a personal life or I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I am going to be unprofessional in my life. I love my work. We had some very warped value system for actresses, which didn’t go well with me.”
On the work front, Manisha made her debut with Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar. She been praised for her debut on OTT with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
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