Will Manisha Koirala regain her glory?
By SAMPURNFriday, May 14, 2010
May 14, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Today’s generation may not really be aware of the talent called Manisha Koirala that had once made the entire industry stand up and notice her. The gorgeous woman who is on the verge of getting married was once a pretty girl who was launched with much fanfare by showman Subhash Ghai in ‘Saudagar’ (1991). This terrific kick start was followed by a spree of indifferent films that Manisha did. Except for ‘Yalgaar’, there was nothing much to show for Manisha who saw a dip in her career despite working with Rishi Kapoor (Anmol), Ajay Devgn (Dhanwan) and Jackie Shroff (Milan).
However, a terrific run followed soon after with Manisha Koirala hitting back in a big way with three notable performance oriented roles in successive years - ‘1942 - A Love Story’ (1994), ‘Bombay’ (1995) and ‘Khamoshi - The Musical’ (2006). While each of these three films directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are much talked about till date, what surprisingly fails to find mention in the same breath is a film called ‘Agnisakshi’ (1996) which was not just critically but also commercially acclaimed.
"No wonder, it made sense for both Manisha and director of ‘Agnisakshi’ - Partho Ghosh - to come together with ‘Ek Second… Jo Zindagi Badal De?’, comments a trade observer, "The film was pronto launched in early 2008 though not with much fanfare way back. Rachna Sunil Singh and Agastyaa Singh were the producers for whom this was their first film making assignment."
To ensure that the film reaches out to current generation as well, the makers also roped in ex-Miss India Nikita Anand in an important role. To give the film a wider appeal in the sub continent, Pakistani actor Moammar Rana too was summoned. This is not all. There was a dash of glamour quotient incorporated as well with Rozza Catalano, ex-girlfriend of Saif Ali Khan, adding further weight to the cast.
"The intentions were all right and though the film wasn’t much in news during it’s making, it seemed that much hoopla would be made once the film was ready for release", continues the observer, "However, an entire year passed by since the announcement and there was not much known about the film’s progress. 2009 began as well and while Manisha Koirala went without a release for an entire year, there was no sign yet of ‘Ek Second… Jo Zindagi Badal De?’."
Naturally, it seems that the film has been lost in oblivion and now even as it is getting ready for June release, it is getting the kind of treatment which is meted out on stuck projects this season. One wonders whether the film’s heads-on collision with ‘Rajneeti’ on 4th June indeed makes sense and if Manisha Koirala would eventually manage to regain her glory?
– Rudhir Burman / Sampurn Wire
