Manisha Koirala admits she wasn’t ‘flattered’ to be called Madhuri Dixit’s lookalike: ‘My eyes had opened…’

In a recent interview, Manisha Koirala acknowledged that, at first, she didn’t feel flattered by comparisons to Madhuri Dixit. However, her perspective shifted after they worked together on Lajja.

 

 

Manisha Koirala made her Bollywood debut with Subhash Ghai’s 1991 film Saudagar and was often compared to Madhuri Dixit as her lookalike. In a recent interview, Manisha shared that she wasn’t initially flattered by the comparison. However, after working with Madhuri in Lajja and getting to know her, she came to appreciate Madhuri’s incredible talent, saying, “My eyes had opened, and I was seeing a super-talented person.”

In a recent conversation with ANI, Manisha Koirala admitted that while she hadn’t felt flattered in the past by comparisons to Madhuri Dixit, she now feels honored by them.

She expressed admiration for Madhuri’s beauty, grace, and character, describing her as a wonderful person whom she deeply respects. Reflecting on her early career, Manisha also shared that she had been a “rebel” in those days, often determined to forge her own path rather than follow others’ advice.

However, years later, when she shared screen space with Madhuri Dixit in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 crime drama Lajja, she was more receptive.

She 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.”  She said she worked really hard to dance alongside Madhuri in their memorable song Badi Mushkil.

Manisha Koirala revealed that she later discovered Dixit played a pivotal role in helping her land her Bollywood debut.

Koirala expressed her admiration for the Dhak Dhak girl, describing her as “marvelous” and noting that it was Madhuri who recommended her to director Subhash Ghai after seeing her in a photoshoot by Rakesh Shrestha.

According to Koirala, the actress had suggested that Ghai consider her for Saudagar, leading him to request Koirala’s photograph from Shrestha.

Koirala described her experience working on Saudagar as positive but noted that she was “too young and naive” at the time, having just completed her 12th grade.

The Dil Se actress recalled feeling fearful and inexperienced, wanting to maintain distance from others on set due to her lack of exposure to life and the industry.

Notably, three years after her debut, Koirala replaced Madhuri Dixit in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1994 period romance, 1942: A Love Story.

On the professional front, Koirala was recently seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, sharing the screen with Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, and others in key roles.