This is the second time that Manisha will work with Bhansali, after the 1996 Khamoshi – The Musical, that was the director’s debut movie. Khamoshi, one of my personal favorites, flopped at the box office.

My Friend Pinto, that will go on the floors in end-2009 or early 2010, is set for a 2011 release. The movie will be directed by Raghav Dar, assistant director of Guru and associate director of Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.

Dar will also script the movie along with Arun Sukumar.

Manisha Koirala was last seen in the absolutely dated Mehbooba – the movie is said to have been in the cans for eight years – in 2008.

Photo: Manisha Koirala

The extremely talented actress has acted in flop after flop in the past 10 years, with the exception of the 2002 Company. Her only other hits have been her first Hindi film, Saudagar (1991), 1942: A Love Story (1994), Bombay (1995), and Dil Se (1998).

Some recent reports say that Manisha Koirala, who hails from the premier political Koirala family in Nepal, is considering joining politics. The actress is reported to have said that she will split her time between Kathmandu and Los Angeles.

Sanjay Leela  Bhansali is currently working on the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Guzarish, that will be released in 2010, and Chenab Gandhi, starring Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Vidya Balan.