Vidhu Vinod Chopra told Manisha Koirala ‘you don’t know acting at all’, refused to cast her in 1942 A Love Story: ‘Ladki to itni sundar hai nahi’

She told ANI, in an interview, “I had never done something like this. At that time, this project was massive. Mujhe pehle hi screen test mein daant pad gayi thi. Vinod said, ‘tumko toh acting aati nahi hai! (I got rejected right in the first screen test. Vinod told me, ‘You don’t even know how to act!)’ So I really worked hard and requested him to give me one more chance, and he said, ‘kal aa jana (come tomorrow)’. So I had got it with a lot of hard work, and I had understood that during this, I cannot slack; I have to figure it out and I have to do my best. This I came to know during the screen test.”

Koirala then recalls the script-reading sessions at Chopra’s residence, where the filmmaker kept giving her feedback that put a lot of pressure on her as he instructed her to look beautiful at any cost. She said, “Then when we used to read the script, we used to gather at Vinod’s house, and we all used to do script reading and all that. That time also Vinod used to tell me that two massive stars — both Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff were the biggest stars then — are in love with you in the film, so you do everything to look beautiful. I do everything you can, but you have to look perfect. Aisa na lage ke main jhoot bol raha hoon as a director ke ladki toh itni khoobsurat hai nahi toh yeh log kyon unka dimaag kharaab kar rahe hai (It shouldn’t seem like I’m lying as a director, that the girl isn’t beautiful enough, so why are these guys going crazy over her). The audience shouldn’t feel cheated.'”

Chopra’s guidance and pressure pushed Koirala to deliver her best performance. “So Vinod used to keep giving me feedback. It was a lot of pressure. But somehow I got the gist, somehow I understood that this is a serious business. I had no idea; I was too young and I was too naive. I was not from the film background, so I did not know much about taking coaching, whom to ask (for advice); I knew nothing. But somehow I navigated and figured it out.”

1942: A Love Story, set against the backdrop of India’s freedom struggle, tells the poignant tale of two young lovers caught in the midst of political turmoil. The film’s memorable music, composed by R.D. Burman, and its stellar cast, including Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, and Manisha Koirala, have made it an enduring classic in Indian cinema.