Manisha Koirala Reveals She Was Labeled 'Easy' for Dating Men: ‘I Lead My Life On My Own Terms’

Manisha Koirala, who was one of the most popular Hindi movie stars of the 1990s, recently opened up about the time when she was asked to not reveal that she drank alcohol and had a boyfriend. Manisha shared that during the making of Saudagar, which was her debut in Hindi films, she was asked to hide the fact that she was having vodka at a party because “actresses are not meant to be drinking alcohol.”

Speaking to Filmfare, she said, “At the time of Saudagar, there was a coke mixed with vodka, and I was told by people around me not not tell people that I am drinking vodka because actresses are not meant to be drinking alcohol. I was told to say that I’m drinking coke. I learnt that new thing. I told my mom, ‘I am drinking coke’, and she knew I put vodka in it and she said, ‘Listen, if you are drinking vodka, say you are drinking vodka, don’t say you are drinking coke, don’t lie for such small little things’.”

Manisha said that she did not like the idea of keeping secrets, so if she was dating somebody, she would say it. “If I was dating somebody, I am dating somebody. You want to judge me? Go ahead and judge me but that’s me, this is me and I lead my life on my own terms,” she added. She also talked about the sexism in the movie industry, where male actors were seen as “macho” for having many girlfriends, but female actors were labeled “easy” for dating someone.

Manisha said that she faced criticism because, in those days, male actors with many girlfriends were called macho, while actresses were expected to be “untouched.” “I faced some flak for it because in those days, the heroes could have many girlfriends, and they were called macho men, but the actress was supposed to be this, ‘no no no, nobody is touching me’ and ‘we are very untouched’,” she said and added, “It was also misunderstood that (she is) very easy or easy girl to you know… But I took it on my stride.” Manisha then said that it was a misconception in those days that women who had a personal life were somehow unprofessional. “Just because I have a personal life or I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I am going to be unprofessional in my life. I love my work. We had some very warped value system for actresses, which didn’t go well with me,” she said.