Manisha Koirala is all set to don the role of Nargis Dutt in the upcoming biopic on Sanjay Dutt’s life, which will helmed by Rajkumar Hirani. After casting actors Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Sonam Kapoor, the popular 90s star was roped in to play the role of Sanjay Dutt’s mother in the movie. The director apparently had no one other than the Dil Se actress in mind when it came to casting someone to essay the iconic Nargis.
In an interview with the Mumbai Mirror, the director spoke in detail on his choice of casting. “We were thinking of many actresses. And while Manisha is really pretty and a fantastic actress, my primary reason for taking her is that she’s a cancer survivor and, having been through the journey herself, can identify with Nargisji’s fight with cancer. When we met, she told me a little about that journey,” he said.
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Nargis passed away fighting pancreatic cancer at the age of 51. Manisha herself has fought the malignant disease and returned to the bigscreen with a bilingual film Oru Melliya Kodu in 2016.
After the huge success of PK at the box office, Rajkumar Hirani’s next is eagerly awaited. Much of the cast has been finalised: Ranbir Kapoor will be seen playing Sanjay Dutt, Anushka Sharma will be essaying the role of a journalist, and Sonam Kapoor will be one of the women Dutt falls in love with. Dia Mirza will be seen portraying Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata, while Paresh Rawal will be playing Sunil Dutt.