Manisha Koirala

of Nepal through her Grandfather Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and two other uncles. After doing her schooling from VKM Varnasi and Army Public School, Delhi. After aspiring to take up medicine as her profession, she anyhow landed in modelling which led to her Nepali film debut in the year 1989.

Film debut and rise to prominence ( 1989- 1991) Manisha Koirala made a low-key film debut in Nepali cinema with the musical romantic movie Pheri Bhetaula pairing with Prakash Adhikari in the lead. The movie panned out to be a major turning point as it led to her Hindi film entry in the year 1991 through Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar which saw her sharing screen with Legendary duo, Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. The film emerged a super hit and paved a grand opening to Koirala in Hindi cinema. Series of underperfommers ( Latter 1991 – 1993) However Manisha could not capitalize on her tremendous debut, as she then went on to be part of low key projects such like the romantic drama First Love Letter opposite Vivek Mushran in the lead. After a year’s gap in 1992 she returned with the romantic flick Anmol alongside Rishi Kapoor which too failed miserably. She carried on the lean patch in the year 1993 with the Ajay Devgn starrer Dhanwaan. Major career turnaround and career best phase ( 1994-1998) Manisha Koirala had her lucky break in the year 1994 with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s epic romantic historical drama 1942: A Love Story where she paired with Anil Kapoor amply supported by Jackie Shroff and Anupam Kher in other pivotal roles. The cult classic had her playing a freedom fighters daughter who falls in love with the son of a loyal British employee of the British Raj phase of Indian freedom struggle. Manisha Koirala was widely applauded for her peculiar ways of acting and received nominations for Best Actress at Filmfare and Star Screen Awards that year. She followed suit the next year when she was called upon by maestro Mani Ratnam for the second instalment of his romantic terrorist trilogy in Bombay alongside Aravind Swamy. She was seen coming up with a stunning depiction of a Tamil Muslim girl who relocates to Mumbai with her Hindu lover after much religious conflicts back home, who invariably gets mixed up in the Bombay riots of 1992-1993 period. Herromantic and subtle performance in the initial half of the proceedings quickly transcending to deeper realms of emotional vulnerabilities in the latter half with panache and her part got her Filmfare Award for Best Actress that year. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was next to cast her in his musical drama Khamoshi: The Musical, alongside Salman Khan and Nana Patekar in the lead. The movie repeated her fabulous run by playing the detached singer to perfection. She also went on to be part of two money spinners in the form of Agni Saakshi and Gupt: The Hidden Truth in the years 1996 and 1997 respectively. She then had her next best thing when she was called up on by Mani Ratnam yet again in the classic romantic drama Dil Se, where she paired with ShahRukh Khan to play a reluctant terrorist in Jammu & Kashmir who is tried to be wooed on by an eccentric radio jockey amidst much communal and political tension prevailing in the country. Koirala was heavily praised for her sharp and controlled portrayal of the emotional turmoil of the character with a blatant expression at most parts, adding further to the depth of the proceedings with a unique finesse which got her a major break with the movie panning out to be a major hit both commercially and critically. The now cult classic had her coming up with one of her career best parts. Ensuing releases ( 1998- 2003) Achanak was her follow up release opposite Govinda which was a forgettable outing. After appearing in underperformers like Laawaris, Kachche Dhaage and more she returned to the limelight with S Sankar’s blockbuster Tamil political thriller Mudhalvan opposite Arjun in the lead. Manisha Koirala after an unsuccessful try in Television returned to Bollywood in 2002 with Ram Gopal Varma’s magnum opus gangster thriller Company which proved to be a priceless addition to her filmography with a varied texture in her rendition. After which she appeared in the controversial romantic film Ek Chotisi Love Story in 2002 had a good commercial run. She had a meaty role playing the reel life version of Bengali writer.