Manisha Marzara is the new Methodist in town, as they call her. A couple of films old actress is just as fresh and excited as she was when she came to Mumbai 8 years ago from Chandigarh. Manisha was a fashion student who often got the chance to style for ad shoots and big Bollywood projects. That is when she knew that fashion was not all that she was meant to do.

Manisha, being a theatre student, took a quick settling in the shoes of an actress when she came to Mumbai. Her first six months in the city landed her a TV serial with Balaji. The following year she was a part of two festival films, Munia and Live @ 5. She continued with bagging TV shows with DD National and Sony. Recalling her early days, Manisha shares, `I was passionate and ready to take everything head-on, but to be honest, I didn't know much back then. I was young. Today, I look back and really wonder how I did what all I did back then - television, short films, shoots. It just happened to me.`

Manisha's projects have seen her inconsequential characters, and she intends to keep it that way for a long time coming. Manisha is known for her weighty and significant roles and her latest, Who Am I is not different. Her previous works, Live @ 5 was about the youth's involvement in politics. Munia spoke about child labor - wherein she played a negative character which further cemented her acting prowess. Miyan Kal Aana, produced by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, went to Cannes and 23 other such film festivals, was based on nikah halala. Babuji Ek Ticket Bambai alongside Rajpal Yadav was about human trafficking and prostitution.

According to Manisha, these roles are essential to her journey as an actor, `I learn a lot from these characters, from these stories. As an actor, I need to be in tune with the real side of the world for my growth and as someone who is abled with a medium of artistic expression, I feel committed and responsible to bringing these issues to the forefront.`

Her latest venture, Who Am I - which releases on December 8, speaks about a modern woman's struggles whereas the lead, her character tries to grapple at everything and be successful when circumstances are not always in her favor. `Isn't that everybody?`, she chimes. She is transcendental in her abilities as an actress but her persona is no less than that of a star's, something that fits well with her caliber.