CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress / ITDC News Bhopal: Actor Manisha Koirala, who collaborated with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali after 28 years for his OTT debut Heeramandi, revealed in a recent interview that she was moved to tears when veteran Bollywood star Rekha called her after watching the Netflix series.  Veteran actress Rekha, who was the director’s first choice to play the role of Mallikajaan in Heermandi, lauded Manisha Koirala’s performance over a call and also expressed her happiness at seeing the Khamoshi actor take on the role which she couldn’t do. In a recent interview with Filmygyan, Manisha Koirala talked about Rekha’s review of her performance in the series. She said the Umrao Jaan star told her, “Bachcha, I was praying if I couldn’t do the role, you get to do it. My prayers have come true. You have done it marvelously, you have gone through so much in life. You have added soul to the role.”

Talking about her reaction, Manisha Koirala said, “To get a blessing and praise from an artist of her calibre is something else. I had tears in my eyes, and I told her, ‘You are making me cry.’ She loves me a lot.” Manisha Koirala also added, “Rekha ji was offered this role 18–20 years ago.  Rekha ji is a goddess. I love her. She is the most graceful and poetic, and she is a great artist. Her voice, her dance, her adaa, her style, her aesthetics…she is a beautiful person. Ashok Mehta ji (cinematographer) would say about her, ‘No actor can be compared to Rekha.'”

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For the unversed, Rekha and Manisha Koirala were seen together in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 film Lajja.

Rekha was also present at the screening of the web series, which was held a week prior to the release of the show on Netflix. See what Rekha wore for the evening:

In his NDTV review, Saibal Chatterjee gave Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar 3 out of 5 stars. He wrote, “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar sustains its spotlight on the women even as it liberally sprinkles its sweeping, overflowing canvas with intimate moments of love, jealousy, deceit and rebellion and with unfolding processions, street clashes and cases of custodial torture that leave a trail of blood and unspeakable horrors.”