Dressed in an all black ensemble Manisha Koirala looks ravishing. Ignore the extra kilos she has gained, and she dazzles.

The actress is excited about her new film in which she plays Indira Gandhi. "It is such an honour. It is a fabulous role. N Chandra is directing the project," she says. "I have started reading books and articles on her. I have stored up a lot of information on her. I will wear a wig for the character. I am busy working on the look."

Manya (as she is affectionately called) knows what she wants. At this point, she is not angling for biggies but roles that satisfy her creatively. "I have done my share of commercial setups. Luckily, I was accepted as a commercial film actress. It was easy for me to do films like Khamoshi, Bombay, 1942 -- A Love Story. Today, I have moved on. I want to do good roles, make films and television serials. Everyone in my house watches television. I want to get into television but I want to make sensible stuff," reveals the Nepali beauty.

Her enthusiasm is infectious as she excitedly talks about her maiden production venture Paisa Vasool. Inspired from Mel Smith's chick flick High Heels Low Lives, the film stars Manisha and Sushmita Sen. "Every one in Paisa Vasool has done a great job."

She brushes aside rumours about her problem with debutant director Srinivas, Mani Ratnam's former assistant. "People were spreading rumours about me having a problem with Srinivas. Why would I have a problem with him? He has been my friend for many years. I took him on knowing his capacity as a director. I feel horrible when people write trash. They wrote I wasn't happy with his work and that he was not doing a good job. It is a load of rubbish."

When quizzed about her latest release Escape From Taliban, she candidly admits, "The director has done a good job. The cameraman was fabulous. When I saw the film I felt I had done my best. I had put in effort. I worked on my accent. I hired a Bengali instructor so that I could get the right Bengali touch. I didn't want it to look like mockery. I wanted the character to be genuine. I have worked with the best directors. To work with just about anybody after that is always compromising. But then I like working with new people, new setups, new scripts."