Bollywood is known for its glamour and drama, where maintaining style and physique is essential. Veteran actress Manisha Koirala, who has recently gained renewed fame for her role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut web series Heeramandi, has opened up about the challenges she has faced in the industry due to ageism.
In a candid conversation with FPG, Koirala revealed how ageism impacts women in the industry. “Whether in the industry or otherwise, ageing is an issue with women. We get shamed. I’ve never heard any troll telling a male figure that he’s become old. But a lot of women are trolled. It’s like looking down upon the age,” she shared, highlighting the bias women face compared to men.
Koirala recalled her experience of being sidelined for a roundtable conversation because of her age. “I was sidelined by a certain group for a roundtable conversation. And the reason they gave me was, ‘Oh, it was about a certain age group.’ I asked, ‘Okay, if the male colleague was also in the same age group, if my co-actor or older than me was part of the project, would he have done a good job? Would he also be secluded from the roundtable conversation?’ Not really,” she said. “I have seen this in at least two to three roundtable conversations where I was secluded because of ageism. It does impact us. Suddenly, they don’t want to have older co-actors, but they do mind having apparently older actresses."
The 54-year-old actress also spoke about the misconceptions surrounding female artists in their 50s. “We need to be torchbearers to show it to the world and to ourselves that after 50, we can still rock. We can still lead a phenomenal life. We can still be good in our profession. We can still have a very happy, fulfilled, and healthy life," Koirala stated. "As long as I’m alive, I want to work, and I want to be healthy. I want to be looking good… that’s my motto."
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She further expressed her frustration with the limited roles often assigned to older actresses. “Lots of people think ‘Buddhi ho gayi hai, what kind of work can she do?’ or ‘Let’s give her only a mother’s role or a sister’s role.’ But women can do any kind of roles. They can be awesome, full of life and fire. So many actresses before me have done that, and I also want to do that,” Koirala said. “I still have fire in my belly. I still have a hunger to do more. I want to keep growing as an artist, and age is just a number. 50 is just a number. And that won’t stop me. That shouldn’t stop anyone."
Talking about upcoming project, Koirala has also been selective about her roles, focusing on projects that challenge her and align with her artistic vision. As per the source she will be part of 2 installment of Heeramandi. However, there is no official announcement.