Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala has denied reports that her marriage with Nepalese businessman Samrat Dahal has broken up.
According to a media report, Manisha clarified both of them are together at present. "We go through our shares of ups and downs. There were some problems, but we've made up now and everything is fine," says the Nepali icon.
Manisha is expected to arrive in Mumbai in a month or so. Manisha is however a little bitter.
"We can differ on whether marriage is an overrated institution or not, but it is always a disaster when you get married under peer pressure.
"When a girl is young, there is pressure about excelling in studies, then about getting a job and the moment she is 25, the intense pressure from friends and family to get married begins.
"Once you get married, people nudge you about babies. I think girls always live under this immense pressure all the time, which makes it difficult to live life your way.
"I strongly feel that it should be an individual choice because anything done under pressure is a recipe for disaster," said Manisha over phone from Kathmandu.
Even though Manisha abhors domestic abuse of women, she says that there have been incidents of men getting abused too.
"Both men and women may get abused. It's all about partnership and mutual respect that keeps the relationship going," she says, adding that men do dominate in most societies.
"Women tend to get dominated even in the most developed and richest of countries. I think it will still take a while to see the gender equality that we keep talking about," says Manisha, who will be seen in the film I Am after a gap of four years.
