Manisha Koirala was asked not to do Mani Ratnam's Bombay, actress reveals why!

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala who celebrates her birthday today has over the years given superhit movies like 'Dil Se', 'Bombay', 'Sanju' among others.

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New Delhi: Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala was one of the most sought after heroines in the 90s. In that time period she had been part of and given superhit movies like 'Saudagar', 1942: A love story, 'Dil Se' among others. One such film which will later become one of the best work for the actor was Mani Ratnam's 'Bombay' where she portrayed the role of a mother, but in a one of her interviews she revealed that she was asked not to say yes to the project as she was quite young at the time.

She once told PTI in her 2018 interview said, "When I was offered Bombay, people told me not to do it because I was playing a mother's role in my 20s and they thought in the next 10 years I'd be getting grandmother roles. But I listened to the other, wiser people who told me it'll be foolish to refuse a Mani Ratnam film. I am glad it helped me in the bargain."

A Hindu man and a Muslim woman, who met in a tiny village and later moved to Mumbai to start a family, were the central characters of the movie. However, escalating rioting and rising religious tensions pose a threat to split the family apart. Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koiral played the key characters in the Mani Ratnam-written and -directed movie, which went on to become one of the year's biggest hits. The movie's music, which was created by Maestro AR Rahman, was also much loved by the audience.

Recently Manisha Koiral was seen in the Sanjay Dutt Biopic 'Sanju' starring Ranbir Kapoor in the titular role and she essayed the role of his mother, great late actor 'Nargis'. Apart from that she has multiple projects in line up and it includes name such as 'Freedom' TV series, and 'Ek second Jo Zindagi Bada de' which is being helmed by director Partho Ghosh.