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The Rediff Interview / Manisha Koirala Manisha: I don't have a dog! February 21, 2006
Subhash K Jha spoke to the actress, and she tries to clear the air:
You seem to have got yourself into a fix over your dog's name.
You mean you haven't named your dog after a revered religious figure?
I don't have a dog, let alone a dog by that name! Am I mad to do such an ugly and sacrilgieous thing?
I come from a family where we were taught to love and respect every community and religion. Disrespecting another human being, let alone another person's religion or culture, is alien to me.
I'm a Hindu and a Nepali by birth. But I'm as Indian as anyone else in this country. I believe in all the secular values that Indian democracy is famous for.
When I read this hideous error in the newspaper, I laughed it off, thinking it was a printing error. I had gone for an election campaign to Nepal, and my mind was totally focused on that. I returned to Mumbai, and this big problem was waiting for me. The police inspector came home to see if I had dogs. But I haven't had any dogs for two years.
So the police inspected your home? Not once, but twice. There is a police officer staying in my building who had already informed the cops that I had no dogs in my home for two years, and the ones that I had were named Tanya and Tweety. How the names got changed in print is beyond me. I don't understand why this trivial story has been made into such a big problem. Even the person who wrote it must have thought it's just one of those easy-come-easy-go stories that are forgotten the day after publication.
It seems someone is trying to cash in on your name?
Two days ago, a friend of mine, Shahid Amir (fashion designer), who lives close by and who's a pet lover like me, wanted to know if I had named my dog by a particular name.
He also told me that people were coming to my house to ransack it. I asked Shahid if, as a close friend, he thought that I was stupid enough to do such a thing. You sound very upset.
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Manisha Koirala has been provided police protection in the wake of protests following a media report claiming she had named her dog after a revered Muslim figure.
