Manisha Koirala, who is a cancer survivor herself, will be seen playing the role of the iconic actress and Sanjay Dutt's mother Nargis in Rajkumar Hirani's upcoming biopic.

Manisha has worked with Sanjay in several films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including 'Khauf', 'Kartoos', 'Yalgaar', 'Sanam', 'Achanak', 'Baaghi' and 'Mehbooba', and knows him well. The actress was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and remained positive through the long treatment at New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre where Nargis was admitted too.

Manisha posted a picture with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, and gushed, "Fantabulous director and a finest man."

The actress was hungry for good roles but rued that none of the offers were substantial to which she adds, "I made some bad choices in the past but today time is precious and I don't want to waste it on substandard work."

Rajkumar Hirani decided to cast Manisha for the role after talking to her about her journey as a cancer survivor. Commenting on which he said, "We were thinking of many actresses. And while Manisha is really pretty and a fantastic actress, my primary reason for taking her is that she's a cancer survivor and, having been through the journey herself, can identify with Nargisji's fight with the Big C. When we met, she told me a little about that journey."

Since the shoot has kickstarted, Hirani has been busy with the Sanjay Dutt biopic, featuring Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay and Dia Mirza as his wife Maanayata.

The film also features Sonam Kapoor as Sanjay's earlier love interest, Vicky Kaushal as his friend from the US, Anushka Sharma as a journalist and Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt.Manisha joins the cast as Nargis, Sanjay's mother, whose death in 1981 from pancreatic cancer, affected him deeply.