Manisha Koirala to play Nargis in Ranbir starrer biopic on Sanjay Dutt

Mumbai: There has been another addition to the much anticipated biopic on Sanjay Dutt, starring Ranbir Kapoor and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Manisha Koirala, who has featured in numerous films as Sanjay's heroine, will be seen as his mother Nargis Dutt in the film.

Confirming the news to Mumbai Mirror, Hirani said, “Manisha is playing Nargisji. She's a wonderful person, extremely sweet.“

Manisha has been missing from the big screen in Bollywood and was last seen in a Tamil film ‘Oru Melliya Koduwoich’, which released in 2016.

Her last notable Bollywood film was Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Bhoot Returns’ which had released in 2012.

Hirani says, “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 the Big C. When we met, she told me a little about that journey,“

The casting for the main characters seems to have fallen in place now, as Paresh Rawal will play Sanjay’s father Sunil Dutt, Dia Mirza would be his wife Maanayata. Anushka Sharma will essay the role of a journalist and Sonam Kapoor is one of the actresses he was romantically involved with.

The film is reportedly gearing up for release during Christmas this year.