Recently, Manisha Koirala shared why she never worked with Shah Rukh Khan after Mani Ratnam's 1998 film, 'Dil Se'. She revealed that heroes' choices matter a lot in the industry.
Manisha Koirala has been one of the most loved female actors in Bollywood since the '90s. She debuted in the Indian film industry in 1991 with the film, Saudagar, and more recently swooned everyone with her performance as 'Mallikajaan' in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
Manisha Koirala and Shah Rukh Khan's romantic thriller, Dil Se..., which was directed by the eminent film director, Mani Ratnam, did moderately well at the box office back when it was released in 1998. On August 21, 2024, the film marked its 26th anniversary, and to talk about the same, Dil Se's female protagonist, Manisha Koirala, sat for an interview with Zoom.
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While speaking to the publication, the 54-year-old actress talked about her co-star, Shah Rukh Khan, and shared why they never worked on any other project after Dil Se. She shared that she has indeed worked with SRK on a film titled Guddu, but not many know about it. Manisha was quoted as saying:
"You will have to ask him. Actually, we had worked together before Dil Se in a film called Guddu which nobody knows about."
Further continuing her chain of thoughts, Manisha pointed out that a hero's choices matter a lot in the film industry. Despite this, the 54-year-old fondly counts Dil Se, along with Mani Ratnam’s Bombay and the popular filmmaker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi and Heeramandi, as some of her finest performances in her filmography. Manisha added:
"In this industry, the heroes decide whom they want to work with, not the heroines. But Dil Se is an exceptional work from my repertoire. I count it among my best along with Mani’s Bombay and Sanjay’s Khamoshi and Heeramandi."
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Meanwhile, the interviewer complimented Manisha by saying that the opening scene of Dil Se, where Shah Rukh spots her on a deserted windy railway platform, parallels Hollywood's renowned actress, Meryl Streep, standing on the Cobb in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Replying to the compliment, Manisha said:
"That is a very precious compliment. For that introductory sequence, I was supposed to look mysterious and beautiful. All credit to Santosh Sivan for shooting me the way he did."
Just a while back, Mita Vashisht, one of the characters in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se, shared that the script for the film was not definite and kept changing. She recalled that one of the combat sequences of the film was removed from the final cut, and she was hurt over it. She emphasised that the director changed the film because of the lead actress, Manisha Koirala.
Despite attaining a cult status, Dil Se... failed to become a box-office success when it was first released. The film's director, Mani Ratnam, discussed the reason behind this and mentioned that his Hindi wasn't so great. He shared that he had to rely a lot on his actors to help get the scenes right.
What do you think of Manisha Koirala's revelations about not working with Shah Rukh Khan after Dil Se?
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