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Manisha Koirala is a Nepalese actress known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films.[1] Koirala's acting debut was in the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989).[2] Two years later, she made her Bollywood debut in Subhash Ghai's Saudagar, which was a commercial success.[3][4] However, she followed this by appearing in a series of films which performed poorly at the box office, including First Love Letter (1991), Anmol (1993), and Dhanwan (1993).[3] Koirala's career had a turnaround when she starred as the daughter of a freedom fighter in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 1942: A Love Story (1994).[3][5][6][7] Her performance was critically acclaimed and she earned a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.[3][5][8] The following year, Koirala received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for playing a Muslim married to a Hindu during the 1992–1993 Bombay riots in the Mani Ratnam-directed Tamil drama Bombay (1995).[3][8][9][10]
For playing the daughter of a mute and deaf couple in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Koirala garnered a second consecutive Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.[3][9][11] She followed this with leading roles in Agni Sakshi (1996) and Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), which were among the highest-grossing Indian films of their respective years.[12][13] She played a terrorist opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Dil Se.. (1998), the first Indian film to reach the top ten in the United Kingdom box office.[14] However, Koirala's roles in films which performed poorly at the box office, such as Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein (1997), and Achanak (1998), led to a decline in her film career.[3][11] She made her television debut in 2000 as the co-host of the game show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka with Anupam Kher. The show's poor ratings led to both Kher and Koirala being fired.[15] For her role as a gangster's girlfriend in Ram Gopal Varma's 2002 crime drama Company, she received her third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.[16][17][lower-alpha 1] Koirala also appeared in the controversial film Ek Chhotisi Love Story in which she played a woman secretly spied upon by a teenage voyeur.[18] The following year, her portrayal of Bengali writer Sushmita Banerjee in the drama Escape from Taliban garnered her the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress (Hindi).[19][20][21]
Koirala's career continued to decline during mid 2000s, as she appeared in less mainstream films.[22] In 2004, she made her debut as a producer with the film Paisa Vasool,[23] which performed poorly at the box office.[24] The following year, she portrayed Mughal princess Jahan Ara in the historical drama Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story.[25] In 2008, Koirala starred in Rituparno Ghosh's Khela, where she played a woman in a troubled marriage.[26] Two years later, she appeared as an adulterous wife in the Malayalam drama Elektra.[27] The following year, she played a Kashmiri Muslim attempting to restore a childhood friendship in Onir's anthology film I Am (2011).[28] In 2012, she appeared in Ram Gopal Varma's horror sequel Bhoot Returns as the mother of a possessed daughter.[29] Later that year, she took a break from acting after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After six months of treatment, Koirala recovered from the condition.[30][31] Three years later, she returned to acting with the psychological thriller Chehere: A Modern Day Classic (2015).[32]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Language(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Pheri Bhetaula | Unknown | Nepali | [2] [33] | |
1991 | Saudagar | Radha Singh Thakur | Hindi | [2] [34] | |
First Love Letter | Radha Singh | Hindi | [35] | ||
1992 | Yalgaar | Meghna Kumar | Hindi | [36] | |
1993 | Insaaniyat Ke Devta | Nisha | Hindi | [37] | |
Anmol | Anmol | Hindi | [38] | ||
Dhanwan | Imli | Hindi | [39] | ||
1994 | Yuhi Kabhi | Pooja | Hindi | [40] | |
Milan | Priya | Hindi | [41] | ||
1942: A Love Story | Rajeshwari Pathak | Hindi | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress | [42] | |
Criminal | Swetha | Telugu Hindi |
[43] | ||
Sangdil Sanam | Sanam | Hindi | [44] | ||
1995 | Criminal | Swetha | Hindi | [43] | |
Bombay | Shaila Banu | Tamil | Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil |
[3] [8] | |
Anokha Andaz | Reema | Hindi | [45] | ||
Guddu | Salina Gupta | Hindi | [46] | ||
Ram Shastra | Anjali Sinha | Hindi | [47] | ||
Akele Hum Akele Tum | Kiran Kumar | Hindi | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress | [48] [49] | |
Dushmani: A Violent Love Story | Sapna Oberoi | Hindi | [50] | ||
1996 | Agni Sakshi | Shubhangi / Madhu[lower-alpha 2] | Hindi | [51] | |
Majhdhaar | Radha Rai | Hindi | [54] | ||
Indian | Aishwarya | Tamil | [55] [56][57] | ||
Khamoshi: The Musical | Annie | Hindi | Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
[58] [9] | |
1997 | Sanam | Sanam | Hindi | [59] | |
Gupt: The Hidden Truth | Sheetal Choudhry | Hindi | [60] | ||
Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein | Suman | Hindi | [61] | ||
Loha | Cameo | Hindi | Special appearance | [62] | |
1998 | Yugpurush | Sunita | Hindi | [63] | |
Salaakhen | Cameo | Hindi | Special appearance in song "Pichhu Pade Hai" | [64] [65] | |
Achanak | Pooja | Hindi | [66] | ||
Dil Se.. | Meghna | Hindi | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress | [67] | |
Maharaja | Shaili Mathur | Hindi | [68] [69] | ||
1999 | Kachche Dhaage | Rukhsana | Hindi | [70] [71] | |
Lal Baadshah | Kiran | Hindi | [72] | ||
Laawaris | Anshu Mehra | Hindi | [73] | ||
Jai Hind | Sheetal | Hindi | [74] | ||
Mudhalvan | Thenmozhi | Tamil | [75] [76] | ||
Kartoos | Manpreet Kaur (Mini) | Hindi | [77] | ||
Mann | Priya Verma | Hindi | [78] | ||
Hindustan Ki Kasam | Roshanaara | Hindi | [79] | ||
2000 | Khauff | Neha Verma | Hindi | [80] | |
Baaghi | Rani | Hindi | [81] [82] | ||
Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya | Manisha | Hindi | [83] | ||
Champion | Sapna Khanna | Hindi | [84] [85] | ||
2001 | Grahan | Parvati Shastri | Hindi | [86] | |
Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller | Nisha | Hindi | [87] | ||
Lajja | Vaidehi | Hindi | [88] | ||
Aalavandhan Abhay |
Sharmilee | Tamil Hindi |
Simultaneously shot and released in Hindi and Tamil | [89][90] [91] | |
Moksha | Ritika Sanyal | Hindi | [92] | ||
2002 | Company | Saroja | Hindi | Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress | [16] [17] |
Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani | Vasundhara Divya |
Hindi | [93] | ||
Ek Chotisi Love Story | The Woman | Hindi | [94] | ||
Baba | Chamundeswari | Tamil | [95] | ||
2003 | Escape from Taliban | Sushmita Bannerjee / Sayed Kamal[lower-alpha 2] | Hindi | [52] | |
Calcutta Mail | Sanjana | Hindi | [96] | ||
Market | Muskaan Bano | Hindi | [97] [98] | ||
2004 | Paisa Vasool | Maria | Hindi | Also producer | [23] |
Tum?: A Dangerous Obsession | Kamini | Hindi | [99] | ||
2005 | Chaahat – Ek Nasha | Mallika Arora | Hindi | [100] | |
Mumbai Xpress | Ahalya | Tamil | Simultaneously shot and released in Tamil and Hindi | [101] | |
Hindi | |||||
Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story | Jahan Ara | Hindi | [102] [103] | ||
Anjaane – The Unknown | Shivani | Hindi | [104] | ||
2006 | Darwaza Bandh Rakho | Julie | Hindi | [105] | |
2007 | Anwar | Anita | Hindi | [106] | |
2008 | Tulsi | Tulsi | Hindi | [107] [108] | |
Nagaram | Cameo | Telugu | Special appearance in song "Hoshiyare Hoshiyare" | [109] [110] | |
Sirf....Life Looks Greener on the Other Side | Devika | Hindi | [111] | ||
Mehbooba | Varsha Mehra / Payal[lower-alpha 2] | Hindi | [53] | ||
Khela | Sheela | Bengali | [26] | ||
2009 | Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish | Juhi | Hindi | [112] | |
2010 | Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De? | Rashi | Hindi | [113] | |
Dharmaa | Gauri | Nepali | [114] | ||
Elektra | Diana | Malayalam | [115] | ||
2011 | Mappillai | Rajeswari | Tamil | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress (Tamil) | [116] |
I Am | Rubaina | Hindi | [117] | ||
2012 | Bhoot Returns | Namrata | Hindi | [118] | |
2015 | Chehere: A Modern Day Classic | Tarana | Hindi | [119] | |
2016 | Game Oru Melliya Kodu |
Maya | Kannada | Simultaneously shot in Kannada and Tamil | [120] [121] [122] |
Tamil | |||||
Edavappathy | Sumithra / Mathangi[lower-alpha 3] | Malayalam | [123] | ||
2017 | Dear Maya | Maya Devi | Hindi | [124] | |
2018 | Lust Stories | Reena | Hindi | Anthology film | [125] |
Sanju | Nargis | Hindi | [126] | ||
2019 | Prassthanam | Saroj Pratap Singh | Hindi | [127] | |
2020 | Maska | Diana Irani | Hindi | [128] | |
2021 | 99 Songs | Psychologist | Hindi | [129] | |
India Sweets and Spices | Sheila | English | [130] | ||
2023 | Shehzada | Yashoda | Hindi | [131] |
Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Sawaal Dus Crore Ka | Co-host | Hindi | [15] | |
2003 | Larger Than Life | Herself | Documentary | [132] | |
2015 | Femina Miss India 2015 | Judge | [133] | ||
2024 | Heeramandi:The Diamond Bazaar | Malikajaan | Netflix Original | [134] |
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