Manisha Koirala Says She Could Never See Herself As Heeramandi's Mallika Jaan: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Saw It | EXCLUSIVE

manisha koirala says she could never see herself as heeramandi’s mallika jaan: sanjay leela bhansali saw it | exclusive

Actress Manisha Koirala plays a key role in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, which marks his debut on OTT. She is seen as Mallika Jaan, who rules over an elite house of courtesans called ‘heeramandi.’ In an exclusive interview with Zoom, the senior actress spoke about getting into the character.

Manisha Koirala on Mallika Jaan

“I knew Mallika Jaan was very cold at heart but what it took for her to be that cold? I kind of had to map out her life, internal life and stuff like that. So it was kind of in the flow. Whatever she’s doing, back of my head, she’s so power hungry, she wants the domain to be under her control and everyone after her. For her, to do anything which is out of the oridnary also, I had to really believe in it to be able to even believe it. So, for me to really believe that, I had to understand her whole mind and whole trauma she has gone through,” she said.

Manisha Koirala could never see herself as Mallika Jaan

The Bombay actress also revealed that she was not sure about playing the bold character. In fact, she only did it because SLB showed trust in her.

“I could never see myself as Mallika Jaan and it was Sanjay who saw it. And I am so glad,” she said.

To this, her co-star Richa Chadha added, “We are also very glad.”

About Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

The show also features Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sonakshi Sinha, and Aditi Rao Hydari. It revolves aroind the lives of tawaifs in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore during the Indian Independence movement against the British Raj.

Heeramandi starts streaming on Netflix on May 1.