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Manisha Koirala made the ruthless and scheming Mallikajaan look effortless in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, but she had to go the extra mile to satisfy director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s demanding standards. The 53-year-old admitted that she found doing several scenes in the eight-part series difficult, however, the scenes at the beginning were particularly challenging as she was still trying to find her groove. “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,” she told Zoom in a recent interview.
The actor, who hails from Nepal, found it difficult to speak Urdu, a prerequisite to playing the most sought-after tawaif 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.
Manisha then requested for an Urdu dialect coach, who could help her get the tone right. “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.
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The actor also added that in the absence of any reference to play Mallikajaan, and her conscious effort to not repeat past performances, she started mapping 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,” Manisha said, adding that she drew from her grandmother, who was a dancer, to get Mallikajaan’s posture right.
For one of the scenes, where henna is being applied to her hands, she sat for seven long hours to get the shot right. “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,” she revealed.
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For the unversed, Manisha is a cancer survivor which meant taking on a project like this would prove daunting for her, physically. However, she wanted to be consumed by 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.
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