There's a new man in Manisha's life

By Subhash K Jha

The elusive enchantress Manisha Koirala came back to Mumbai on Monday after three months…surely a long gap even by her here-today-there-tomorrow standards!

"No no this time I wasn't away doing my own thing," Manisha laughs gently. "It was work and then….my father health," her voice drops to a whisper.

After shooting a month for Parto Ghosh's film in Malaysia, Manisha moved to Bangkok where she took her father for treatment.

"My dad was critically ill. How ill, you can judge from the fact that she was in hospital for two months."

The beautiful dutiful stayed by her father's side all through. "My mother my brother Siddharth and his wife Yulie were by his side throughout.

I had no desire to leave his side. Nothing seemed more important than his health. I just wanted him to get well. Now he's on the way to recovery.We've brought him back to Mumbai where his medication will continue.

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."

Manisha's Dad B.P Koirala had to move out of their home in Nepal due to political unrest.

"Things aren't very smooth-sailing for us Koiralas in Nepal," Manisha says cautiously. "Besides I wanted my father to get the best health care possible. Bangkok seemed the best bet."

Now Manisha, her parents,her brother and his wife are together in Mumbai.

In her absence a rather sweet film Sirf where she played a neglected wife to Kay Kay Menon was released. "It was a good film. Though an ensemble piece I liked my role and enjoyed doing it.

I was too concerned about my dad to care about my career. I don't know what happened to the film. I dubbed and left for Malaysia to shoot then for Bangkok to attend to my dad."

The film that she shot in Malaysia features Manisha in the first double role of her career.

"It's a film called Ek Second directed by Parto Ghosh who did one of my most successful films Agnisakshi .It's about how one moment can change one's entire life. The story of my life," she laughs heartily.

"My co-stars were a talented Pakistani actor Momin Rana whom I had never heard of before, and Jackie Shroff… good old Jaggu Dada whom I really get along with. A nice mix of the new and the familiar. Just the way I want in my life at this time."

And yes, there's a new man in Manisha's life whom she has been seeing for some months now. "He's an American and a very spiritual person. I've never been happier. Beyond that I don't want to say anything about him until I'm sure about where the relationship is going."