Manisha Koirala

Manisha Koirala, born on 16 August 1970, is a Nepalese actress known for her work in Indian cinema, mainly in Hindi and Tamil films. She comes from the politically influential Koirala family; her father is Prakash Koirala, and her grandfather was B. P. Koirala. At the height of her career, she was among the most popular and highest-paid actresses, winning three Filmfare Awards, one Filmfare Award South, and one Filmfare OTT Award. In 2001, the Nepalese government honored her with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu.

She began acting in the Nepali film *Pheri Bhetaula* (1989) and made her Indian cinema debut with the Hindi drama *Saudagar* (1991). After a short slump, she regained momentum with hits in both Bollywood and Kollywood, including *Bombay* (1995), *Agni Sakshi* (1996), *Indian* (1996), *Gupt: The Hidden Truth* (1997), *Kachche Dhaage* (1999), *Mudhalvan* (1999), and *Company* (2002). Critics also praised her for playing a naive girl in *1942: A Love Story* (1994), an ambitious wife in *Akele Hum Akele Tum* (1995), the daughter of deaf-mute parents in *Khamoshi: The Musical* (1996), a terrorist in *Dil Se..* (1998), and a mistreated woman in *Lajja* (2001).

Over the next decade, she earned acclaim for roles in unconventional and art-house films like the survival drama *Escape From Taliban* (2003), the Malayalam psychological drama *Elektra* (2010), and the anthology *I Am* (2010). In 2012, she paused her career after being diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, underwent a year of treatment, and recovered by mid-2014. She returned with *Dear Maya* (2017), then portrayed actress Nargis in *Sanju* (2018), and appeared in the Netflix production *Lust Stories* that same year. More recently, she starred in the period drama series *Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar* (2024).

Beyond acting, she served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 for India and in 2015 for Nepal, and helped with relief efforts after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. She also wrote the novel *Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life*, recounting her struggle with ovarian cancer.

**Early life** Manisha Koirala is Hindu. She was born on 16 August 1970 in Kathmandu, Nepal, into the politically prominent Koirala family. Her father, Prakash Koirala, is a politician, former cabinet minister, and former member of Nepal’s House of Representatives; her mother, Sushma Koirala, is a homemaker. She has one brother, Siddharth Koirala, also a Bollywood actor. Her grandfather, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, served as Nepal’s prime minister from the late 1950s to early 1960s, and two of her great-uncles, Girija Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala, also held that office.

She spent much of her early life in India. She lived at her maternal grandmother’s home in Varanasi for several years, and later in Delhi and Mumbai. In Varanasi, she attended Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya through Class X. Wanting to become a doctor, she moved to Delhi and studied at Army Public School (APS) in Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi. She has said that living alone in Delhi helped her become "strong and independent." Determined to act, she later moved to Mumbai to pursue film roles.

**Career** *Debut and breakthrough (1989–1994)* During a break after her Class X board exams, she acted in the 1989 Nepali film *Pheri Bhetaula* as an experiment. She also did some modeling assignments in Delhi, including one for a wool company, before focusing on acting. In 1991, she made her Hindi film debut in Subhash Ghai’s *Saudagar*, which was a commercial success. According to Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com, critics noticed her potential even as she was often compared to Madhuri Dixit. *Yalgaar* (1992) did well at the box office, but a string of poorly performing films followed—*First Love Letter* (1991), *Anmol* and *Dhanwan* (both 1993)—leading producers to label her "a jinx."

Her career turned around after starring in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s romance *1942: A Love Story* (1994), set during the Indian independence movement. Chopra initially dismissed her as a "terrible actress" after her first screen test, but her second audition impressed him, and he cast her instead of Madhuri Dixit. She played Rajjo, the daughter of a freedom fighter who falls in love with Naren (Anil Kapoor), the apolitical son of a British colonial employee. The film featured a deep kiss between the leads and was certified U/A by the Central Board of Film Certification, the first Indian film to receive that rating. Critics praised her performance as "a sensitive performer," though the film was a box office flop. It earned her her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

*Critical acclaim and mainstream recognition (1995–2002)* In 1995, she made her Tamil cinema debut in Mani Ratnam’s political romance *Bombay*, opposite Arvind Swami. She took the role on the advice of her friend Ashok Mehta, despite contemporaries urging her not to work outside Hindi cinema. The film received critical acclaim; American critic James Berardinelli wrote that *Bombay* "recalls how forceful a motion picture can be."