Parsi mother act for Manisha Koirala in Netflix movie Maska

Manisha Koirala in a still from Maska

After Prassthanam (2019), Manisha Koirala is back on the scene with the upcoming film, Maska, which drops on Netflix. Though she has been part of the industry for three decades, the actor found herself working for the first time with newcomers, including director Neeraj Udhwani and co-actors, Prit Kamani and Shirley Setia.

Talking about collaborating with the young breed, Koirala says, "They are clued into everything that's happening, and it is a joy to work with them." She describes herself as "a hungry actor". "Even if the director is satisfied with the shot, I will tell him to take one more."

Koirala plays a Parsi woman named Diana Rustom Irani in the film, which revolves around a confused millennial who dreams of becoming a movie star until his girlfriend knocks sense into him.

Koirala says, "I play mother to a son who has gone off the track. I try to pass on the family legacy - a restaurant - but he doesn't listen. My character has a strong Parsi accent. I visited various baugs in the city where the community stays, to observe their mannerisms."

In the midst of juggling the prep work for this film and the shooting schedules of other projects, Koirala also took off for the Everest base camp with a school buddy. "I was shooting for a film in Atlanta. My diction trainer Monaz Ranina would record the dialogues and send them to me on WhatsApp. This to-and-fro took place till I [nabbed] the pronunciation."

On the set, she had acting coach Ritesh Kant enable her to develop the character. "Maska is a feel-good film which will be relatable to both, youngsters and the old. It talks about dying traditions, and the need to preserve them," says Koirala, who will also be seen in Dibakar Banerjee's Netflix film, Freedom.

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