Manisha Koirala considers herself fortunate to be playing legendary actress Nargis in the upcoming biopic, Sanju. She had shared that she tried to capture her essence, the core of her being. “To live through the pain, trauma and suffering again... It required a lot of inner strength to play Nargis ji. But finally, it was all worth it, because Nargis was such an iconic figure… Just looking like her, or combing my hair the way she did, is not enough. I had to understand her spirit, her soul. Just how much I’ve succeeded, we will soon know,” she had declared.

Manisha, who recently successfully battled cancer, has herself led a very eventful life, worthy of a biopic. However she is not too open about the idea yet. “I don’t think anyone else has a heart as huge as Baba’s (Sanjay Dutt) to allow such an honest depiction,” she explained regarding the warts and all biopic on Sanjay Dutt.

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However, if she did sanction a biopic on her own life, she would like to see Alia Bhatt essay her onscreen. Manisha, who is writing a book, Healed, which features parts of her own life, believes Alia would do full justice to her role. “She is not only a great actress but also knows how to get into the character well,” she adds. Manisha has certainly made the right choice, even if it is a hypothetical one as of now.

Young Alia is the go-to name in Bollywood when it comes to performance-oriented parts. Recently even beau Ranbir Kapoor’s father Rishi Kapoor, gushed about her prowess when discussing the best young actors today. “I admire someone like Alia Bhatt, who takes up challenging roles like in Highway and Raazi. It’s very difficult at this tender age to carry a film on their shoulders and only an actor can do that. Also, one has to be lucky enough to get such parts. Alia has been lucky and of course, she has the talent too,” he had raved.