"People within the tv industry are spreading strange rumours about me. I'm supposed to have become this frustrated work-lesss and bitter guy who probably feels good about himself by throwing tantrums at home. Sorry to disappoint my well-wishers. I've been busy."
Manish has been secretly writing a script for a daily. "Very different from the standard soaps shown on screen. There will be no Saas and Bahu, no squabbling brothers and no business families making deals on top of rocky mountains. I've been quietly writing a script for a daily about the Indian middleclass reality.
Having acted in some of the most unreal soaps, I know the counter-view. My situations and characters are completely grounded to middleclass reality. As a tv actor I feel audiences are ready for a change."
Manish not only wants to produce the daily he has written he also wants his wife Poonam Nirula to play the lead in it. "I don't wish to act in the soap I've written. As an actor I've two offers each on television and in films. I'm taking these up."
Manish is also actively involved with an organization called FLY, "It's the acronym for Future Lies In Our Youth. It's an organization for parental guidance. We feel parents are as much in need of counseling as children...I don't want my interests to remain narrowed down to being a television actor. In 2007 I want to expand my horizons."