Manisha Koirala (born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian cinema, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films. Born into the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of Prakash Koirala and the granddaughter of B. P. Koirala. One of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of her time, she is the recipient several accolades, including three Filmfare Awards, one Filmfare Awards South and one Filmfare OTT Award. In 2001, the Government of Nepal awarded her with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu.
Manisha made her acting debut with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989), and later debuted in Indian cinema with the Hindi drama Saudagar (1991). Following a brief setback, she established herself with commercial successes in both Bollywood and Kollywood films, including Bombay (1995), Agni Sakshi (1996), Indian (1996), Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), Kachche Dhaage (1999), Mudhalvan (1999) and Company (2002). She also received critical recognition 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 course of the next decade, she garnered praise for her performances in several unconventional and art-house films, such as the survival drama Escape From Taliban (2003), the Malayalam psychological drama Elektra (2010), and the anthology film I Am (2010). In 2012, Koirala took a break from acting after being diagnosed with last stage ovarian cancer and underwent an year-long treatment, making a successful recovery by mid-2014. She returned with the coming-of-age drama Dear Maya (2017), followed by her portrayal of actress Nargis in Sanju (2018). The same year Koirala featured in the Netflix production Lust Stories. She has since starred in the period drama series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024).
In addition to acting in films, Koirala was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 for India and 2015 for Nepal, and was involved in the relief works after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. She also contributed as an author to the novel Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life; which is an account of her struggle with ovarian cancer.
Early life Manisha Koirala is a Hindu. She was born on 16 August 1970 into the politically prominent Koirala family, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her father, Prakash Koirala, is a politician, former Cabinet minister and a former member of Nepal’s House of Representatives, while her mother, Sushma Koirala, is a homemaker. Koirala has one brother, Siddharth Koirala, who is also a Bollywood actor. Her grandfather, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, was the prime minister of Nepal during the late 1950s to the early 1960s, as were two of her great-uncles, Girija Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala.
Koirala spent her early life in India. She stayed in Varanasi at her maternal grandmother's home for some years and later in Delhi and Mumbai. While at home in Varanasi, she attended the Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya until Class X. Aspiring to become a doctor, she moved to Delhi and studied at the Army Public School (APS) of the Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi campus. In an interview, she said that living on her own in Delhi helped her become "strong and independent." Determined to pursue a career in acting, Koirala later moved to Mumbai for film roles.
Career
Debut and breakthrough (1989–1994)
During a break after her class X board exams, Koirala acted in the 1989 Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula as an experiment. She also took on a few modeling assignments during her time in Delhi, but later shifted her focus toward acting. One of these was for a wool company.
In 1991, Koirala made her Hindi film debut with Subhash Ghai's directorial Saudagar, which emerged as a commercial success. According to Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com, "[C]ritics saw sparks in Manisha, even as she was constantly referred to as Madhuri Dixit's lookalike". Yalgaar (1992), did well at the box-office and was classified as a hit. However, this was trailed by a series of films that performed poorly at the box office, including First Love Letter (1991), Anmol and Dhanwan (both 1993), which led to Koirala being labeled "a jinx" by producers.
Koirala's career prospects improved after starring in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's romance film 1942: A Love Story (1994), set during the Indian independence movement. Chopra initially dismissed Koirala as a "terrible actress" after her first screen test, but was impressed with her performance for a second audition and decided to cast her in place of Madhuri Dixit. In the film, Koirala 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 the protagonists sharing a deep kiss; it was certified U/A (Parental guidance required) by the Central Board of Film Certification, becoming the first Indian film to receive the rating. Koirala's performance received positive reviews, with critics hailing her as "a sensitive performer". The film proved to be a box office flop. However, it fetched Koirala her first nomination for Best Actress at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony.
Critical acclaim and mainstream recognition (1995–2002)
In 1995, Koirala made her debut in Tamil cinema with the Mani Ratnam-directed political romance Bombay, starring alongside Arvind Swami. She took up the role on the insistence of her friend Ashok Mehta, at a time when other contemporaries urged her to not act in non Hindi film industries. It received critical acclaim, with American critic James Berardinelli writing, "Bombay recalls how forceful a motion picture can be. It also reminds us of the maxim that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it". For playing a Muslim who marries a Hindu journalist against the backdrop of the Bombay riots in the eponymous film, at the 43rd Filmfare Awards South, she received her first Award in the Best Actress – Tamil category. Koirala's performances in 1942: A Love Story and Bombay proved to be milestones in her career, and marked her breakthrough in the film industry. The same year, she featured in the musical romance Akele Hum Akele Tum opposite Aamir Khan a remake of 1979 American film Kramer vs. Kramer starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and received her second nomination in the Best Actress category at the Filmfare Awards. Later in 1995, Koirala starred opposite Sunny Deol in the action love story Dushmani: A Violent Love Story and the film turned out to be an average grosser.
The following year, she played a battered wife on the run from her mentally-ill husband in the drama Agni Sakshi, a remake of the Julia Roberts-starrer Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), which begot her positive reviews for her performance. The film was released in close succession with two other remakes of the same film –Yaraana (1995) and Daraar (1996) and was a commercial success, emerging as the second highest-grossing film of the year in India. Later she featured opposite Salman Khan in the comedy Majhdhaar the same year, which was both a critical and commercial failure. She then played a starring role in S. Shankar's Indian (1996), which marked her second Tamil film. It was also dubbed and released in Hindi under the title Hindustani. Featuring Kamal Haasan in dual roles alongside Koirala, Urmila Matondkar and Sukanya, it was the most expensive Indian film at that time, with a budget of 150 million. Both Indian and Hindustani were commercial successes.
In her last release of 1996, she acted in the musical drama Khamoshi: The Musical, which marked Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut. Koirala played Annie, a caring daughter to her deaf-mute parents Joseph and Flavy, portrayed by Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas respectively; Salman Khan played Raj, her love interest. In preparation for her role, Koirala learned the Indian Sign Language. A critic from Channel 4 wrote, "Koirala in particular is in her element and demonstrates the full range of her acting ability, rather than playing against it as she has had to do in more traditional films". Despite receiving critical acclaim, Khamoshi: The Musical was a flop. Filmfare included her performance among a list of "80 Iconic Performances" of Indian cinema in 2011. In a box office roundup of the year, The Indian Express felt Koirala put up an "impressive show" with her successes. Her performance in Khamoshi earned her a second Filmfare Award for Best Performance and a nomination for Best Actress. She also received her only win for Best Actress at the Screen Awards. The following year, she played the leading role alongside Kajol and Bobby Deol in the thriller Gupt: The Hidden Truth, which was one of the biggest hits that year but her other films in the year were unsuccessful.
In 1998, she went on to collaborate once again with the acclaimed director Mani Ratnam, and starred in his film Dil Se.. opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Her role received similarly good reviews and earned her several award nominations including the Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. The film proved to be a hit overseas. The film became the first Indian film to enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom box office charts. Even months after its release in September 1998, the film was still screened on five screens, five times per day with an average of 3,000 spectators across all screens in the Cineworld complex in Feltham, West London. Koirala later played the leading role opposite to Govinda in the movie Maharaja.
In 1999, she starred in the successful Kachche Dhaage, which was followed by six more releases, the most notable of them being Indra Kumar's drama Mann, remake of 1957 Hollywood classic An Affair to Remember, which entered into the top five highest-grossing films of the year. Her performance in the film won her favourable reviews. Film critic M. Ali Ikram wrote about her performance: "If there is a respite for Manisha's innumerable fans of late, this flick is it. We may not care about hits and flops, but it is painful to watch this acting virtuoso in the innumerable side roles she has been seen in of late. Indra Kumar's decision to cast Manisha here is a case of perfect casting, and she never lets him or the audience down. This lady is truly the Meena Kumari of her generation. It is great fun watching Manisha and Aamir Khan's perfect chemistry opposite one another. The film's climax has both stars permanently molding a spot for themselves in Bollywood history, and it will have you shedding tears by the bucketful." It was a successful feature at the box office. While filming Laawaris (1999), Koirala began to get tired of her busy schedule and felt "the pressure getting to [her]"; she turned to alcohol for solace and developed anger issues. She also reunited with S.Shankar for Mudhalvan (1999) which went on to become one of the highest grossers of Tamil Nadu that year.
In 2000, Koirala starred in four films including action dramas Champion opposite Sunny Deol and Baaghi opposite Sanjay Dutt, but none of the films became major successes. The same year, she debuted on television and hosted the reality game show titled Sawaal Dus Crore Ka on Zee TV alongside Anupam Kher. Both anchors were later replaced due to poor performance of the show. Koirala was extremely hurt and upset for being made the scapegoat and blamed the poor production quality on the sets.