Actress Manini Mishra acts out a scene with actor Bijay Mohanty on the sets of the Oriya movie Sangam. Telegraph picture

As Pari in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, she grabbed everyone’s attention and continues to do so in Maniben dotcom.

Now Manini Mishra has set foot in the Oriya film industry. Not many people know that the actress, who will be seen in the yet-to-be-released Oriya movie Sangam, hails from the silk city of Berhampur. Daughter of a businessman and a bureaucrat mother, Manini grew up in Delhi. But she is proficient in Oriya, thanks to her frequent trips to the native land since childhood.

“My father belongs to Berhampur and my mother is from Uttar Pradesh. Although I grew up in Delhi, I used to visit Orissa regularly during my vacations,” says Manini, who speaks Oriya fluently. “At home we always converse in Oriya,” she adds. A student of history, the actress once dreamt of becoming an archaeologist. She also nurtured ambitions of becoming a psychiatrist. However, she says she never thought of modelling or act ing as a career.

“My family has always been inclined to any form of art. Once a friend of mine applied on my behalf to enter the Miss Delhi, Face of 1993 contest,” reminisces Manini, who ended up winning the pageant. “I soon fell in love with the concept and the ramp walks too,” she adds.

Next was the Miss India contest of 1994. “Aishwarya and Sushmita were the winners that year and I had claimed the Miss Congeniality title,” she recalls.

A couple of years later she went to Mumbai and started doing a number of advertisements. Her career in TV, however, started with Mansi, a women-oriented interview show that she hosted. Offers for TV soaps too started pouring in.

“I have enjoyed every bit of acting. It’s like living many lives within a lifetime when you play a character. It’s a wonderful process of being someone else,” feels Manini.

Movies have now become a passion for this actor who has worked for 75 TV shows and as many as seven films, starting with Rules Pyaar ka Superhit Formula.

“Working with Rakesh Roshan for Krissh and with Juhi Chawla and Arshad Warsi has been a wonderful experience. But I dream to work with Shahrukh Khan someday. He is my idol,” she smiles.

A voracious reader and a trained psychotherapist, Manini was more than happy to work for Oriya film Sangam directed by Mumbai based Jatin Kumar Agarwal.

“It was great to work with the best actors of my state. Sidhant, Budhaditya and Bijay Mohanty are so professional. I really wish to see more girls coming into the mainstream from Orissa,” says Manini.

“Busy with films, I could not afford time to visit Orissa for the past five years. But now I’ll be there for the promotions of Sangam,” she says. “Orissa is a beautiful place and I’m proud to be an Oriya,” adds Manini.