Manisha’s compliment boosted the dancer in me

Working in Lenin Rajendran’s Edavapathy was a dream come true for actress Uthara Unni. Not only did she get a chance to showcase her dancing skills, she also got to work with her childhood idol Manisha Koirala.
Uthara, who was part of a lengthy schedule for the movie, tells us that she was initially intimidated by Manisha’s stature before the Bollywood star won her over. “I was nervous on the first day of the shoot.Initially she was very formal. But a few days into the filming, we started talking and became close,” Uthara says.
The trained dancer also performed a classical dance sequence with the Dil Se actress for the movie. “Manisha ma’am appreciated my dancing skills and gushed, ‘Oh my God! You are learning the steps very fast. How do you perform so well at such a young age?’” the 23-year-old actress says. “Though the veteran actress has not undergone any training in classical dance, her experience was more than enough for her to grasp the steps easily. Getting a chance to perform with her and also to get a compliment from her stoked the dancer in me.” Once Manisha became aware of her dance background, the actress says, their conversations in between the breaks became centered on their shared passion for dance, which is also an important element in the movie.
The duo will be playing mother and daughter in two different timelines for the movie. “In the segments about the past, I play Vasavadatta, the courtesan and she acts as my mother Mathangi, and in the contemporary era I play a girl who falls in love with a Tibetan monk,” she says.