Manisha Koirala to adopt a girl

Five years after Manisha Koirala’s two-year-old marriage with Samrat Dahal collapsed, the actress has decided to adopt a girl. The actress, who is all set to play the role of Nargis Dutt in the Sanjay Dutt biopic, confirms the news.

“Yes, you heard it right. I am in the process of adopting a girl. I have been wanting to do it for a while. If all goes well, I may do it by the end of this year or in early 2018,” she reveals. Manisha will be the second Bollywood actress to adopt a girl. Earlier, Sushmita Sen had adopted two girls — Renee and Alisah.

Meanwhile, she is preparing to play the beautiful yesteryear actress Nargis, the mother of Sanjay Dutt. “I had to undergo a lot of tests — with long hair and short hair — before being selected for the role,” she says. Incidentally, Nargis lost her life to cancer and Manisha is a cancer survivor.

At the moment, Manisha is watching several videos of Nargis. “I want to look, speak and behave like her. I want to get this right,” says Manisha, who has met Sanjay’s sister Priya Dutt to get a clear picture of her mother.

Forty-six-year-old Manisha is playing the mother of Ranbir Kapoor, who is just 12 years younger than her. In fact, Manisha was hardly 21 when she worked with Ranbir’s father Rishi Kapoor as his heroine in Anmol.

“I have been very choosy about my roles. But then, I could not refuse this. Ranbir is one of my favourite actors of this generation. I really like and admire his work. That is one reason why I agreed to do the role,” she says.

The actress considers playing Nargis as an honour.

“I have not started shooting for the film, but I will be meeting the makers soon and will start filming my portions. It is an honour to play the role of Nargis Dutt. She has an awesome personality and has made a great contribution to cinema.”