Manisha Koirala, in a recent interview, confessed that she still regrets turning down Yash Chopra’s 1997 film, Dil To Pagal Hai where she was pitted against Madhuri Dixit.
Yash Chopra’s 1997 romantic drama, Dil To Pagal Hai starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor enjoys a huge fanbase even today. But do you know that Manisha Koirala was the first choice to play the character of Nisha? However, after the actress turned down the Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Karisma Kapoor stepped into her shoes and went on to win a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Recently, in an interview with India Today, Manisha talked about rejecting Dil To Pagal Hai because of her insecurity and called it one of her regrets that she has her in film journey.
The actress told the publication, “One of the regrets that I have in my career is that I didn’t do Yash Chopra’s film. I was pitted against Madhuri [Dixit] ji , and I got scared. I backed out of that project. Every actor of my time, when Yash Ji was alive, wanted to work with him because he portrayed women so beautifully. I went to Yash Ji’s office and told him, ‘Sir, it is my dream to be your heroine, solo. You are pitting me against Madhuri ji’. Somehow [because of] better judgement of mine, I think I missed out.”
Eventually, Manisha Koirala went on to share screen space with Madhuri in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 film, Lajja.
Speaking about it, the ‘Dil Se’ actress shared, “Years later, when Raj Santoshi ji offered Lajja to me, I took it because I had done the mistake before. Lajja‘s story was mind-blowing, it was women-centric, and I was bowled over by the subject. I think when you have a strong maker, and when you are confident in your own skin, the security comes.”
Manisha said that when Lajja was offered to her, she realised that she had previously done the mistake of letting go of a major project (Dil To Pagal Hai) which could have been a landmark film in my career.
“I realised I didn’t want to do that mistake again because of my silly insecurities. I am so glad I did it. I am so proud of Lajja,” she told the news portal.
Further, the ‘Bombay’ actress was all praise for her co-star Madhuri and described her as a “good person and actress.”
She said, “Madhuri ji is such a good person and actress. There was no need for me to be insecure. I think when you have a strong actor in front of you, you only perform better. They encourage you to perform better. That comes from age and experience. I loved working with Madhuri ji in that [movie]. I loved working with Rekha ji as well.”
Manisha Koirala is currently busy with the promotions of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming Netflix series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
