Actress Manisha Koirala, who is garnering praise for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, recently revealed that she went into depression during the shoot of the web series. In the show, Manisha is seen playing the lead role of the ruthless Mallikajaan.
The actress, who is a cancer survivor, said in an interview that she understands how physical and mental health is intertwined.
"Impacted by cancer, I know how body and mind health are intertwined. Even now, sometimes I go through depression. During the Heeramandi shoot, depression consumed me so much that my mood swings were like... I was like, 'Sail through this phase. Once this is out, focus on your health'," Manisha told NDTV.
In another interview, the 53-year-old actress revealed that she sat still for seven hours straight to get one shot right in Heeramandi. Manisha also recalled requesting Bhansali to take her health into consideration after 12-hour shoots.
Opening up about the scene in which heena is being applied on her hands, Manisha told Zoom, "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."
The actress added that she wanted to give her best but without compromising her health and 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," she said.
Heeramandi released on an OTT platform on May 1 and it has created quite a buzz on the internet. The show received mixed reviews from the audience and film critics. The eight-episode series is set in Lahore in pre-independence era and revolves around the lives of courtesans who ruled the region and were once queens.
It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, Farida Jalal, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Fardeen Khan and others.
