Rivals on screen but apologize off-screen – this is what Sonakshi Sinha felt after watching her series Heeramandi, where her character encounters Manisha Koirala. Sonakshi, who will be seen in a dual role in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed series, said she had to prepare herself to work with an actress like Manisha, who comes with decades of experience.
In an interview with Instant Bollywood, when asked how she became friends with Manisha, Sonakshi said, “I love her. After watching the entire series I apologized to him! I was like, how have I done this? Where did this courage of mine come from? He is amazing and that’s the beauty of having such a good actor in front of you because he encourages you to do better.
“This is the same Manisha Koirala whom we have grown up watching, who has an amazing body of work. I thought I was in front of him, so I better do something good. It is so much fun to laugh and joke with each other, you are completely involved in it. I enjoyed working with Manisha ma’am.
Heeramandi was also Sonakshi Sinha’s first collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who made her streaming debut with the Netflix show. When asked if he thought she would be in the director’s good books or become his friend while making the show, the actor said he never saw their equation that way.
“I didn’t really try (to get in his good books),” he said. He is an artist himself so I knew that the only thing that would impress him is good work or if I do my work well. That is exactly what happened. He wasn’t supposed to shoot many of my scenes, but then he shot one scene and kept coming back. We built a beautiful relationship on the set, where I didn’t have to work too hard and I knew that if I pressured myself, I would mess it up.
“I surrendered completely and tried my best. He saw and appreciated it. How I got into the character under his direction and he liked that about me. There is a lot of respect between us and I am really grateful that he trusted me with such a role.”
Sonakshi Sinha says she didn’t try to get into Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s good books, apparently apologizes to Manisha Koirala after watching Heeramandi
