When Manisha Koirala Was Warned Not To Do Bombay

Manisha Koirala remembered being let go by Ashok Mehta because she wasn’t convinced about acting in Mani Ratnam’s Bombay.

Manisha Koirala is a well-known name in both the South and Bollywood industries. The actress has established her acting prowess by appearing in numerous box office hits. Not only is her movie Bombay still among the best of her career, but it is also among the best works of Hindi cinema. Recently, the actress admitted there was a time when she was unsure whether to commit to the movie or not.

Bombay, directed by Mani Ratnam, was a box office success, with Manisha playing the major role. It was astonishing to learn that the actress wasn’t initially convinced about the movie; instead, it was director of photography Ashok Mehta who gave her a reality check and informed her she would be a fool to reject this movie.

Manisha Koirala revealed that many people had advised her against acting in the now-classic Hindi film Bombay. She said, “I didn’t want to do Bombay, people had warned me against doing the role of a mother, but cinematographer Ashok Mehta ‘fired’ at me saying ‘do you know the level of good work Mani Ratnam has done? You are an idiot if you refuse his film.’ That jolted me, and mom and me went to Chennai, and did a look test. I am really happy I did Bombay.”

For the unfamiliar, Mani Ratnam, one of the great directors of Tamil cinema, directed the 1995 film Bombay. The inter-religious couple who lived in Bombay during the riots of 1992–1993 were the subject of the film.

In terms of her professional career, Manisha Koirala most recently appeared in the lead parts of Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, the Hindi version of the Telugu blockbuster.