Manisha Koirala needs no introduction and remains one of the finest actresses in the film industry with her career spanning over decades. Recently, the actress recalled the drastic change that Bollywood has witnessed and shared that back in time there used to be so many restrictions on the female leads. From hiding about drinking alcohol to not revealing their dating life, even the smaller things were assumed to be something not appropriate for them.

The actress recalled the incident when she was still new to the films and was having vodka mixed with coke however she was told not to reveal about having alcohol as it could potentially spoil her image and lead to no work. She said, “At the time of Saudagar, there was a coke mixed with vodka, and I was told by people around me not to tell people that I am drinking vodka because actresses are not meant to be drinking alcohol. I was told to say that I'm drinking coke. I learnt that new thing. I told my mom, ‘I am drinking coke', and she knew I put vodka in it and she said, ‘Listen, if you are drinking vodka, say you are drinking vodka, don't say you are drinking coke, don't lie for such small little things'. If I was dating somebody, I am dating somebody. You want to judge me? Go ahead and judge me but that's me, this is me and I lead my life on my own terms.”

Further adding, “I faced some flak for it because in those days, the heroes could have many girlfriends, and they were called macho men, but the actress was supposed to be this, ‘no no no, nobody is touching me’ and ‘we are very untouched.’ It was also misunderstood that (she is) very easy or easy girl. But I took it on my stride. Just because I have a personal life or I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I am going to be unprofessional in my life. I love my work. We had some very warped value system for actresses, which didn’t go well with me.”

Manisha most recently appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial "Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar", the series released on Netflix on May 1. The series also starred Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Richa Chadha, and Sanjeeda Sheikh in the lead roles and was set in the pre-independence era of India. The makers also announced the sequel of the series following its massive success.