Mumbai, July 15 (IANS) Manisha Koirala says she’s having a long-standing “romance with Paris”. So much so that the Bollywood actress is all set to buy a house in the city she calls her “second home”. “I’ve always been a wanderer. I’ve always gone with my heart. But my romance with Paris has outlasted all others,” Manisha told IANS.
“I’ve been away from Mumbai for so long. It’s good to be back. Mumbai will always be my home, but Paris and I seem to be attached in strange unexpected ways. I’ve always found the city extremely romantic. Paris just oozes art, culture, tradition and bonhomie. Every time I go there, I feel completely at home.”
Manisha, who was seen in the recently released “Mehbooba”, took a longish break to be alone in Paris. “And I absolutely loved it. That’s when I decided I wanted a second home. I’m in the process of buying my dream home there. Whenever I’m shooting in Mumbai, which would be quite a lot from now on, I just need to catch the next plane. My family can come and join me in Paris any time.”
For Manisha, family comes first – above career and self-fulfilment. “Recently we were all together when my father fell ill. I saw how my mother looked after my father. Some day in the near future I hope to be an equally good wife and mother,” she said.
Manisha, who took a sabbatical from acting, is in the process of making a grand comeback. She has lost oodles of weight and looks the way she did in her career-making classics like Sanjay Bhansali’s “Khamoshi”, Mani Ratnam’s “Bombay” and “Dil Se”.
“I know I made serious career mistakes. One lives and learns. I’ve been restless. But now there’s a great deal of spirituality and calm in my life. The home in Paris is an extension of my growth and equanimity as an individual,” she said.
The actress also intends to direct a film soon. In fact, she went to New York University to learn editing and direction. “I know, I have it in me. Some day soon I’ll direct a film. But it has to be a natural process. I won’t persuade myself to do anything I don’t believe in. I never have.”
— By Subhash K. Jha
