Manisha Koirala recalls how Madhuri Dixit recommended her for Subhash Ghai's 'Saudagar'

Manisha Koirala in a still from Saudagar

Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala, who made a comeback to the silver screen as Mallika Jaan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's web series Heeramandi, revealed that it was Madhuri Dixit who had recommended her name to Subhash Ghai for Saudagar.

Saudagar was Manisha Koirala's debut in 1992, and she went on to work in many marvels of Bollywood and down south. Her much loved movies are Mani Ratnam directed Bombay, 1942: A Love Story, Khamoshi: The Musical, Mani Ratnam's Dil Se, to name a few from the long list of movies.

In an exclusive conversation with news agency ANI recently, Manisha Koirala revealed that she came to know that it was Madhuri Dixit who had asked director Subhash Ghai to meet Manisha for his movie 'Saudagar.'

Manisha Koirala, who had worked with Madhuri Dixit in 'Lajja, said, "She is marvelous. I love her. Also the fact that later on I got to know that she had recommended my name. She had seen me in Rakesh Shrestha's photo shoot. And she had actually told Subhash (Ghai) Ji that I'd seen one girl. 'You should see her for 'Saudagar'. That's how Subhash Ji called for my photograph from Rakesh Shrestha."

Talking about her experience of working with The Showman Subhash Ghai in Saudagar, she said, "Saudagar was a good experience. I was too young, too naive, right out of my 12th standard. I was 18 or 19 with no exposure to life or anything. I was very fearful. I was very scared. I wanted to keep
everybody at a distance."

Madhuri and Manisha have shared screen space in Rajkumar Santoshi's 2001 film 'Lajja' and danced with her on the iconic track 'Badi Mushkil'.

Manisha Koirala also opened about being compared to Madhuri during those times.

"Honestly, those days I wasn't flattered. But today I am. Because she is so beautiful. She is so graceful. And not only that, she is a wonderful woman. As a person, I just love her. And it was quite an honor."

Talking about sharing screen space with Madhuri in Lajja, Manisha said, "By then I had also matured. My eyes had opened, and I was seeing my goodness—such a humble person. Super talented and so beautiful."

Manisha recently impressed fans with her performance as Malika Jaan in Heera Mandi. She shared screen space with Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, and Aditi Rao Hydari. It was the story of the lives of courtesans.