Ask Manisha Koirala, who has achieved the feat, she’ll tell you. The actress, who is on a special high-protein diet, has finally silenced critics who were taking unkind digs at her waistline which was expanding in proportion to her diminishing career.
“I agree I wasn’t my best self. But now that I have lost 10 kilos, it feels good,” said Manisha from Ashvem Beach in North Goa, where she was shooting for Parto Ghosh’s film Ek Second Jo Zindagi Badal De. “I just love it here,” said the actress, who has lost count of the number of times she’s visited Goa. “And now in the rains, Goa’s divine,” added Manisha, who calls herself a gypsy and loves to go globe trotting with her friend, actress Deepti Naval.
Manisha has set her eyes on Paris, where she is going to build a second home. She has also set her heart on Bollywood, as she makes a comeback with three films this year. “I took a break from films because I felt I was overworked. I was losing out on the other side of life,” explained Manisha. She is jet setting to the US for a month, now. “I have wrapped up this film and before I start work on the next project, I’m going to take a month’s break,” Manisha said. When she isn’t globe trotting, what is she up to? “I spend a lot of time in Chennai at the Oneness University. It’s like an ashram where I go for self-development and mental toughness.”
Manisha had taken a break when her career was at its peak and stories of her drinking and smoking, and her love life, kept grabbing headlines. “All that hurt me and I shut myself from the world. I have spent 15-20 years in the industry and still people don’t know me. I’m not a newcomer to go around explaining things,” said the actress.
But now she is aspiring to work with good directors provided they come up with good scripts. “There’s loads of money being pumped into films, actors are signing mega deals with multi-national companies, all this didn’t exist earlier. There’s a lot of discipline now. The audience too is educated,” said the actress who intends to re-start her production house too.
She is also ready to try her luck with television once more. Manisha had earlier done the game show Sawal Dus Crore Ka that didn’t click. “It was designed to be one-up on KBC. If it was an original idea, perhaps it would have worked,” she said defensively.
Her professional life looks like it’s back on track, but what about her tragic love life? “I won’t deny there’s someone in my life, but it’s too early to talk about him. Let things work out...” Marriage on the cards? “I may not get married. I would love to have children, but right now, I like it the way it is,” said Manisha Koirala ominously.
