Exclusive: Manisha Koirala on Ageism, Botox and More: “It Needs Guts…”
Manisha Koirala spoke to Filmfare about movies, her take on recent cinema, emergence of OTT platforms and more. However, the conversation steered to ageism, use of botox and speaking about real issues in Bollywood. When asked if she has ever been told to go under the knife, Manisha quickly noted that she has been tempted to.
But Manisha was heavily into fad diets. She agreed, while noting, “Firstly, I think ageism is something we need to talk about. Because it is putting something in a box. You’re looking from a very narrow perspective.”
When asked for an example from her life in recent times, Manisha noted that a 50-year-old actress playing the lead in Heeramandi is a miracle and achievement on its own. She said, “For example, in Heeramandi, nobody thought a 50-year-old actress would be the main lead or one of the main leads. If Sanjay believed in ageism, it wouldn’t be so. It needs guts, it needs vision, it needs conviction to go past that. Otherwise, this whole thing of when you cross that age, you are not center of attention, you’re automatically on the periphery.”
She further explained, “Actually I made peace with periphery also at one point. I thought if this is the way of life, I need to be okay with this. But I think the world is changing, in terms of beauty you see the big brands going for older women also. We see change in terms of performances, whether it is OTT, which has opened the doors. You see older men and women who are doing great work. Probably they would be sitting at home. A lot of barriers have been broken, lot of things have changed and also I have to give it to the younger generation who are also very opened. They are the ones who started the conversations. Me Too, ageism, pay parity – all these things are basically equal rights.”
Also Read: Anushka Sharma wants Dil Se to be remade so she can play Manisha Koirala’s character
