Daily Times

Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala revealed how Oscar-winning Cillian Murphy served as an inspiration for her to perfect Mallikajaan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi’.

In a new interview with an Indian publication, actor Manisha Koirala, who is sweeping acclaim for her portrayal of cunning, poisonous, cruel and cold Mallikajaan, the chief courtesan of Heeramandi in SLB’s web series, revealed how she drew inspiration from Cillian Murphy’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ for her character.

Speaking about her character, the ‘Dil Se’ actor said, “To bring in the realism, you can’t put the character in the box. So I had to figure out and navigate it. I think even after doing a few scenes, I was still in the process of navigating.”

Koirala recalled asking one of Bhansali’s assistants, for any existing reference for her character, when she was told, “‘Manisha, watch Peaky Blinders’.”

“So I watched Peaky Blinders and picked a few things, especially the hero’s cold gaze. I said if I can get that it would be fabulous because personally, I have never come across anyone like Mallikajaan,” she added.

Notably, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-awaited digital debut ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’, explores the ‘stories of courtesans’ living in the red light district of Lahore, during the pre-independent India.

The eight-episodic web series, starring Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal in the main roles, along with Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar and Adhyayan Suman, and Taha Shah, premiered on the streaming giant Netflix last week.