Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala, now enjoying success with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi, recently shared an early career story. A famous photographer once asked her to pose in a two-piece bikini. Although she wears bikinis for swimming, she refused for the photoshoot.
In an interview, she said, “Very early on in my career I was asked to go and take photographs, and there was this very famous photographer. I went with my mom, and initially, that photographer said things like, ‘You are the next superstar and this and that.’ Cut to him bringing a two-piece bikini to me and asking me to wear it. I told him, ‘Sir, I wear this when I go to the beach or for a swim, but if this is the way I have to get into the movies, I don’t want it, and I am not wearing that.’”
When Manisha expressed her reservations, the photographer scolded her. She recalled, “I told him either you shoot me fully clothed otherwise I am… ‘I remember he gave me a big dialogue. He said, ‘Jo mitti pighalne se sharmati ho uske murti kaise banaye (The clay that refuses to melt, how do I make a statue from it)’. I have not forgotten that.”
Manisha talked about the mindset of some people in the 90s. She remembered how the same photographer, who had scolded her early in her career, had to photograph her again when she became a star. He then praised her, saying, “Oh, I knew you were going to be a big star.” While Manisha wasn’t happy with his behaviour, she also understood where he came from, “Not to be mean to the person, but their conscience level was that. Their exposure was that, so they behaved like that,” she added.
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