Manisha Koirala Sat Still For Seven Hours For A Shot In 'Heeramandi': 'I Wasn't Sure If My Body Would Take It'

Manisha Koirala has been garnering acclaim from all corners for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's deut series 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.'

Manisha Koirala essays the role of Mallikajaan in Bhansali's 'Heeramandi.' ( Image Source :Manisha Koirala/Instagram. )

New Delhi: Manisha Koirala has been garnering acclaim from all corners for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's deut series 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.' The much talked about period drama, based on the lives of courtesans in the pre-Independence era, released on the streaming platform Netflix on May 1.

Manisha Koirala opens up on learning Urdu for Bhansali's series

Manisha Koirala effortlessly embodied the ruthless and powerful Mallikajaan in 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar,' but meeting director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's  standards required her to push herself further. The 53-year-old confessed that several scenes in the eight-part series posed challenges, especially in the initial stages when she was still finding her character's rhythm.

Talking about the same during an interview with Zoom, she said, "The initial scenes were the most difficult, when I was not able to get the right sur (tone) of my character. I was trying to navigate the tone of the character. I did a lot of homework and read about the physical gait and mannerisms of Mallikajaan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hailing from Nepal, Koirala faced an additional hurdle: mastering Urdu, essential for portraying the in-demand courtesan of Heeramandi. "When I read the script, I realised Mallikajaan has lengthy dialogues and I didn’t know Urdu. I know Hindustani but I needed to work hard on my Urdu. Urdu was the fourth language I had to learn for the character,” she added.

The actress also took lessons from an Urdu dialect coach. "I did many sessions with Munira ji. She happens to be my neighbour so a couple of times when I would drop her home, we would practice my scenes and dialogues. My entire focus was on getting the diction right,” she revealed. 

 

Additionally, the actor mentioned that without any specific reference to portray Mallikajaan, and with a conscious decision to avoid repeating past performances, she began mapping out the character's psychology. “I tried to understand what her childhood trauma was, what were her disappointments, where is she scarred, what are her dreams and ambitions, what is that she wants."

 

For one of the scenes, the popular actress even sat for seven hours straight to get the scene right. Talking about it, she said, "I didn’t get up because I wanted the scene to be perfect and I kept sitting for seven hours because I wanted to navigate the character and understand her."

 

Manisha Koirala on her physical health

 

For those unaware, Manisha is a cancer survivor, which made taking on a project like this physically daunting for her. However, she was determined to immerse herself in the process without compromising her well-being. 

 

"I knew it would be demanding and I would be consumed by it and I wanted to be consumed by the entire process, but I also wanted to keep an eye on my health. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it or if my body would take it. The makers were understanding. After 12 hours of shooting, we would stop. Sanjay understood my fear and anxiety and worked on them. Barring a few times, we didn’t shoot beyond 12 hours. Having said that, I also had the zeal to do it and I was willing to walk that extra mile for the character,” she added.