Manisha Koirala: I am content, don't want to look back

Manisha Koirala PicRane AshishShes back on the BTown scene after as she puts it facing death and no more of taking your health for granted When we meet Manisha Koirala at a suburban club at a little after 930 pm we see no signs of exhaustion although she has been giving backtoback interviews for the past few hours for the promotions of her upcoming film Sunaina Bhatnagars Dear Maya Manisha has two more projects lined up Rajkumar Hiranis biopic on Sanjay Dutt in which she essays the actors mother Nargis Dutt and Bombay Talkies 2 in which she features in the segment directed by Dibakar Banerjee As she sits down for a chat she keeps wiping her face with a wet tissue ExcerptsDo you find the pace of promotions hectic nowIt is indeed hectic I am doing it after a gap and things have changed I consider myself oldschool but I am keeping up with the times But I do not want to overdo things that can take a toll on my energy I want to strike a balance I am doing whatever I can for Dear Maya There is so much competition now The audience has too many choices they could rather be watching a movie on Netflix instead of your film in theatres We have to push little harder to lure the audienceHow do you look at the new phase of your lifeI am grateful for a new lease of life My battle with cancer opened my eyes to several things In the last five years I had a lot of time to introspect I consider myself in a better space now I dont want to look back I have had my bad times I have had heartbreaks low phases and gone off track but it has been a learning phase I am content with life and have made peace with many things including my relationship with my parents What matters to me is that I remain happy I know it is not going to be easy I dont want a man in my life now I dont want to shake up my life againWhat were your apprehensions about a comebackI was coming back after a break so I was keen to get it right I was conscious about the decisions that I needed to take The script producer director everything had to be right At the same time I didnt want to push myself I want to enjoy my work and dont want to do what I did in my 20s I have made compartments in my life I want to enjoy them allHow is the shoot of Bombay Talkies 2 coming alongI feature in one of the segments directed by Dibakar Banerjee I play a mother of two who loves the water I was a jury member at the Dubai Film Festival where his 2006 film Khosla Ka Ghosla was screened Dibakar is a newage director with new vision I was hoping to work with him one day and now I have got the chanceInitially you had reservations about playing Nargis Dutt in the Dutt biopicWhen casting agent Mukesh Chabbra called me for it my first reaction was What I have to play Babas Sanjay Dutt mother now We have done several films Yalgaar 1991 Sanam 1997 Kartoos 1999 I was always a tomboy on the set when shooting with Baba I had my reservations as I would end up playing mothers roles I know how the industry functions I pondered over it for a while and then said yes I thought to myself when will I get to play Nargis Dutt again When I told my mother she was excited about it She told me about Nargisji and her trademark white sarees I am looking forward to the filmHave you interacted with the Dutts recentlyNo I am going with Rajjis Hirani vision I had once met Priya Dutt on a flight to New York where I was headed for a medical checkup I have always admired the work she does for Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation Last month she invited me for a cancer survivors event I told her now tell me about your mom She handed me a book Mr and Mrs Dutt cowritten with sister Namrata Dutt KumarYour brother Siddharth Koirala has disappeared from BollywoodHe is back home in Nepal and into politics now He is married and has a daughter