Khamoshi (Hindi: ख़ामोशी, Urdu: خاموشی, translation: "Silence") is a 1969 black-and-white Hindi film directed by Asit Sen, starring Rajesh Khanna and Waheeda Rehman. It especially remembered for its songs with music by Hemant Kumar and some haunting lyrics by Gulzar, who also wrote films equally effective dialogues. Though what really made this film stand out was the B &W cinematography by Kamal Bose, who won the Filmfare Award for its work. The film is considered Waheeda Rehman's finest acting feat, as she carries the entire film through her powerful yet understated acting, she received a Filmfare nomination for it ^[1].

The film was shot in Calcutta. The film is based on story titled, 'Nurse Mitra' by noted Bengali writer, Ashutosh Mukherjee, director Asit Sen had earlier filmed the story for the Bengali film Deep Jwele Jaai (1959) starring Suchitra Sen.

A Hollywood remake of the film, Silence, has been planned. It will be directed by Sanjay Patel and is rumoured to star Jennifer Aniston in the lead role.^[2]

Background[link]

Director Asit Sen was different from the actor-comedian Asit Sen. Director Asit Sen acted in the original Bengali film Deep Jwélé Jaai (1959) in a role, which was essayed by Dharmendra in Khamoshi, where the movie-goers actually could not recognise him because it was a dark scene marked with the baritone voice of Hemant Kumar. Later he revealed himself in an interview in the 1990s.^[1]

Plot[link]

Colonel Sahab is a doctor in a psychiatry ward and Nurse Radha (Waheeda Rahman) is heart-broken after a civilian patient, Dev Kumar (Dharmendra), whom she cared for, pouring out her love and affection, leaves the hospital, as she had been unable to keep her heart separate from her professional work and had fallen in love with her patient. Next Arun Choudury (Rajesh Khanna), a writer and poet enters as a patient, suffering acute mania after being rejected by his lover, Sulekha. After refusing to take his care, Radha relents and starts nursing him. In between while caring for Arun she reminisces her past and tells a story of how she took care of injured brave army soldiers when she was posted in Laddakh during the Sino-Indian war of 1962.

Gradually Arun gets cured by the love of Nurse Radha, who yet again falls hopelessly in love with her patient. Unable to hide from the truth yet unable to face it, Radha herself goes insane and is admitted to the same clinic. Arun, promises to wait for her until she is recovers, finding no other options that he could choose to make her better again. ^[3]

Cast[link]

• Rajesh Khanna - Arun Choudhury (Patient #24)
• Waheeda Rehman - Nurse Radha
• Dharmendra - Mr. Dev (Patient #24) (Guest Appearance)
• Nazir Hussain - Dr. Colonel Saab
• Snehlata - Sulekha (Aruna's lfriend)
• Iftekhar - Doctor
• Lalita Pawar - Matron
• Deven Verma - Patient #22

Music[link]

The music was composed by Hemant Kumar and some of the popular songs (written by Gulzar) of the movie are :

• Tum pukar lo.. tumhaara intezaar hai: Hemant Kumar
• Woh Shaam Kuch ajeeb thi.. yeh shaam bhi ajeeb hai : Kishore Kumar
• Humne dekhee hai un aankhon ki mehekti khushboo: Lata Mangeshkar
• Aaj Ki Raat Charagon- Aarti Mukherjee ^[4]
• Dost Kahan Koi Tumsa: Manna Dey

Awards and nominations[link]

• Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award (B&W film category): Kamal Bose
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Actress: Waheeda Rehman^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Khamoshi at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Bollywood (Hindi cinema) Directors · Actors · Playback singers · Music Directors · Songs · Bibliography Hindi films A–Z—Highest-grossing Films by year: 1930s · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012

Salman Khan
Salman Khan walking the ramp for Sanjana John
Born	Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (1965-12-27) 27 December 1965 (age 46) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Residence	Bandra, Mumbai
Other names	Sallu
Occupation	Film actor, television presenter and philanthropist
Years active	1988–present
Parents	Salim Khan Salma Khan
Relatives	Arbaaz Khan (brother) Sohail Khan (brother) Helen Richardson (step-mother)

Salman Khan (pronunciation : [səlˈmaːn ˈxaːn]; born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965)^[1] is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.

Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), for which he won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He went on to star in some successful Hindi films of those times, such as Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Judwaa (1997), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998) and Biwi No.1 (1999), having appeared in the highest earning films of seven separate years during his career.^[2]

In 1999, Khan won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended appearance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and since then has starred in several critical and commercial successes, including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Tere Naam (2003), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), No Entry (2005), Partner (2007), Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011), which has become the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time. Khan has thus established himself as one of the most successful actors of Hindi cinema.^[3][4][5]

Early life[link]

Khan is the eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan and his first wife Salma (née Sushila Charak). His paternal grandfather was a Muslim from Afghanistan^[6][7] who came to India and settled in Madhya Pradesh, whereas his mother is a Marathi Hindu.^[8] Khan himself had once said that he is "half Muslim and half Hindu".^[9][10] His stepmother is Helen, a former actress, who has co-starred with him in a few films. He has two brothers, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, and two sisters, Alvira and Arpita. Alvira is married to actor/director Atul Agnihotri. Khan finished his schooling through St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai, as did his younger brothers Arbaaz and Sohail. Earlier, he studied at The Scindia School, Gwalior for a few years along with younger brother Arbaaz.^[11][12]

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Salman Khan made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 1988 film Biwi Ho To Aisi. His first leading role in a Bollywood movie was in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic family drama Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), one of India's highest grossing films.^[13] It earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut, as well as his first nomination for a Best Actor at Filmfare.

1990s[link]

1990 saw one film release starring Khan, Baaghi: A Rebel for Love. The film was a box office success,^[14] followed by four hit films in 1991, Patthar Ke Phool, Sanam Bewafa, Kurbaan ^[15][16] and Saajan.^[17] Despite these early successes, nearly all of his 1992–1993 releases resulted in box office failures.^[17]

Khan returned to success in 1994 with his second collaboration with director Sooraj Barjatya in the romance Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, co-starring Madhuri Dixit. This film was the biggest hit of that year, and turned out to be one of Bollywood's highest-grossing films ever, becoming the fourth-highest earner of all time.^[18] In 1995 he starred in Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun alongside Shahrukh Khan.^[17] The two played brothers who are reincarnated after being killed by family enemies. The film was the second biggest hit of the year, and his role of Karan once again put his name among the nominees for the Best Actor award at the Filmfare, which was eventually won by his Karan Arjun co-star Shahrukh Khan for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.^[19][20]

In 1996, Khan performed in two movies, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directional debut Khamoshi: The Musical, a box office failure, but critically acclaimed; and Raj Kanwar's action hit Jeet. He had two releases in 1997: Judwaa and Auzaar. The former was a comedy directed by David Dhawan where he played a dual role of twins separated at birth.

Khan worked in five different films in 1998, his first release being the comedy Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya opposite Kajol, one of the biggest commercial successes of that year. This was followed by the moderately successful drama Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai.^[17] Khan played a young man who has to take a child who claims to be his son, under his custody. Khan's performance in the film earned him several positive notices and favourable reviews from critics. He rounded of the year with an extended cameo in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for which he earned a second Filmfare Award under the Best Supporting Actor category.

In 1999, Khan starred in three films: Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United and Biwi No.1, two of the highest grossing films that year;^[21] and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which earned another Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare.

2000s[link]

In 2000, Khan acted in films including Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega . Chori Chori Chupke Chupke addressed the issue of surrogate childbirth; Khan played the role of a rich industrialist, who hires a surrogate mother after his wife becomes infertile. Critics noted his turn towards a more serious role, which reportedly had more substance in comparison to his previous roles.^[22][23] In 2002 he starred in the delayed release Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam.

For Tere Naam, (2003) Taran Adarsh said of him, "Salman Khan is exceptional in a role that fits him to the T. He breathes fire in sequences that demand uneasiness. But beneath the tough exterior lies a vulnerable person and this facet in particular comes to the fore in the latter reels. His emotional outbursts are splendid..."^[24] He subsequently continued his success at the box office, with comedies like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and No Entry (2005).^[17] Khan's work in 2006 included Jaan-E-Mann and Baabul .

Khan started 2007 with the ensemble film Salaam E Ishq. His next release Partner did very well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster verdict.^[25] He next appeared in the Hollywood movie, Marigold: An Adventure in India which told the love story of an Indian man and an American woman. Khan starred in three films throughout 2008, all of which underperformed.^[26]

Khan hosted the second season of 10 Ka Dum in year 2009 which turned out to be even more successful than his first season as host of the game show in year 2008. The show got very high TRPs for Sony Entertainment Television and according to reports, the show helped Sony TV regain its third position in the Indian television ratings.^[27]

Khan's first film of 2009, Wanted directed by choreographer turned director Prabhu Deva. In the same year, he appeared in two other films, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and London Dreams. While London Dreams doing average business, only due to the uninspiring music, but Main Aurr Mrs Khanna made 21 crores through DTH Premiere.^[28]

2010s[link]

Khan's first release of 2010 was Anil Sharma's commercially and critically unsuccessful film Veer. His next release, Dabangg, was produced by his brother Arbaaz Khan, and released on 10 September 2010. It made a record opening at the box office^[29] and Box Office India declared it an all-time blockbuster.^[30] For his performance in Dabangg, Khan received a Star Screen Award for Best Actor and a Stardust Award for Star of the Year – Male and was nominated for his sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Anupama Chopra from NDTV wrote about his performance, "It's the role of a lifetime and Salman Khan bites into it like a starving man devours a feast. He inhabits it fully, strutting and swaggering and even, spoofing himself."^[31]

Khan's first release of 2011 was Ready which released on 3 June. The film broke several box office records and is currently the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. He next appeared in Bodyguard. Upon release, the film became an all time blockbuster at the box office,^[32] with Khan's performance receiving favourable comments from critics and is currently the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. ^[33]

Personal life[link]

In 2004, he was voted seventh-best-looking man in the world and the best looking man in India by People magazine, USA.^[34] Khan has been involved in several charities during his career.^[35]

On 11 October 2007, Khan accepted an offer from Madame Tussauds wax museum in London to have a wax replica made of himself. His life-size wax figure was installed there on 15 January 2008, making him the fourth Indian actor to have been replicated as a wax statue in the museum.^[36][37]

Khan has been the subject of several controversies, including certain legal troubles. On 28 September 2002, Khan was arrested for rash and negligent driving. His car had run into a bakery in Mumbai; one person who was sleeping on the pavement outside the bakery died and three others were injured in the mishap.^[38] Charges of culpable homicide were laid against him, but later dropped, and he was found not guilty.^[39] On 17 February 2006, Khan was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting the Chinkara, an endangered species. The sentence was stayed by a higher court during appeal.^[40] On 10 April 2006, he was handed a five year jail term and remanded to Jodhpur jail until 13 April when he was granted bail.^[41]

On September 2010, Khan was reported to have claimed during an interview to a Pakistani channel that the 26/11 attacks were hyped because the "elite" were targeted.^[42][43] During the interview the actor had said - "It was the elite that was targeted this time. Five star hotels and all. So they panicked. Then they got up and spoke about it. My question is why not before. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much."^[42][43] Khan also said that Pakistan was not to be blamed for it, and that the Indian security forces had failed.^[44] Khan's comments had drawn strong reactions from Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Chagan Bhujbal, Shiv Sena, BJP and other political parties.^[45] The comments were also condemned by Ujwal Nikam, Special Prosecutor in the 26/11 trial.^[45] Khan later apologised for his comments.^[42]

His relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai was a well publicised topic in the Indian media.^[46] After their break-up in March 2002, Rai accused him of harassing her. She claimed that Khan had not been able to come to terms with their break-up and was hounding her; her parents lodged a complaint against him.^[47] In 2005, news outlets released what was said to be an illicit copy of a mobile phone call recorded in 2001 by the Mumbai police. It appeared to be a call in which he threatened Rai, in an effort to force her to appear at social events held by Mumbai crime figures. The call featured boasts of connections to organised crime and derogatory comments about other actors. However, the alleged tape was tested in the government's Forensic lab in Chandigarh, which concluded that it was fake.^[48][49]

After years of speculations, actress Katrina Kaif admitted in an 2011 interview for a magazine that she was in a serious relationship with Salman Khan for several years, which ended in 2010.^[50]

In August 2011 he admitted he suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, a facial nerve disorder commonly known as the suicide disease. In an interview he said that he has been quietly suffering it for the past seven years, but now the pain’s become unbearable. It has even affected his voice, making it much harsher.^[51]

Being Human Foundation[link]

Being Human Foundation is a registered charitable trust set up by Salman Khan for helping the cause of the underprivileged. In its early days, Salman Khan set up and funded the Foundation using his own money. The Foundation has two focus areas: Education and Healthcare. To increase the reach and corpus of the Foundation, Salman Khan has undertaken initiatives such as Being Human Art; Being Human merchandise; and Being Human Gitanjali Gold Coins. Proceeds from the activities of these initiatives go towards spreading education and healthcare for the underprivileged.

BEING HUMAN ART: The first showing of Being Human Art was an exhibition of Salman Khan's paintings at Dubai in October 2009. The response was tremendous and more exhibitions are being planned.

BEING HUMAN MERCHANDISE: Being Human Fashion was announced at HDIL India Couture Week 2009 in a show that made fashion history by featuring the biggest ever line-up of superstars including Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. At HDIL India Couture Week 2010, Salman launched Being Human watches and followed it up with another glittering show featuring Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita Sen. Being Human T-shirts were launched in November 2010.

BEING HUMAN GITANJALI GOLD COINS: Being Human, the Salman Khan Foundation has tied up with India's biggest jewellery brand Gitanjali to launch co-branded gold coins.

BEING HUMAN PARTNERS MARROW DONORS REGISTRY INDIA (MDRI): In November 2010, the Foundation partnered with MDRI to create awareness and generate donors in order to create a robust registry in India.^[52]

In 2011. Salman Khan launched his own production company called SKBH Productions (Salman Khan Being Human Productions).Money which will be generated from film productions will be donated to Being Human. First film made under the banner was kids entertainer Chillar Party, which went on to win 3 National Awards, for Best Children's film, best original screenplay and Child Artist's Award .^{[53] [54]}

Non film work[link]

Khan has started an NGO called 'Being Human' which will sell T-shirts and other products online and in stores. A portion of the sales will go to a worthy cause supporting the underprivileged.^[55] In April 2012, he became the brand ambassador for the travel website, Yatra.com, which also made him a shareholder.^[56].He has also endorsed the History Channel, Suzuki motorcycles,^[57] and Mountain Dew with whom he ended the contract in December 2010.^[58]

In January 2012, Khan has offered to pay 40 lakh (US$79,800) for releasing around 400 prisoners from around 63 prisons in the state of Uttar Pradesh via his NGO. The prisoners had completed their term but due to economical reasons, they were unable to pay a legal fine for their charges.^[59]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Television presenter[link]

• 10 Ka Dum (Seasons 1 & 2)
• Bigg Boss (Seasons 4 & 5)

Writer[link]

• Baaghi: A Rebel for Love (1990)^[64]
• Chandra Mukhi (1993)^[65]
• Veer (2010)

Producer[link]

• Chillar Party (2011)

See also[link]

Bollywood portal

• List of Indian Actors
• List of people from Madhya Pradesh

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ghosh, Biswadeep (2004). Hall of Fame: Salman Khan. Mumbai: Magna Books. ISBN 81-7809-249-2. 

External links[link]

• Salman Khan at the Internet Movie Database
• Salman Khan on Twitter

v t e Bollywood (Hindi cinema) Directors · Actors · Playback singers · Music Directors · Songs · Bibliography Hindi films A–Z—Highest-grossing Films by year: 1930s · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012

Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Born	Manisha B. Koirala (1970-08-16) August 16, 1970 (age 41) Kathmandu, Nepal
Other names	Manisha Koirala Dahal
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Samrat Dahal (2010–present)
Website
http://www.manishakoirala.net.in/

Manisha B. Koirala (born August 16, 1970) is a Nepali-Indian^[1][2] actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well. She is also an accomplished Bharatnatyam and Manipuri dancer. Making her acting debut in the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989), Koirala made her Bollywood debut with the top-grossing drama Saudagar (1991). She went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses with such mainstream films as 1942: A Love Story (1994), Agni Sakshi (1996) and Gupt (1997).^[3]

Recognised for her acting prowess, Koirala was noted for her performances in films like Bombay (1995), Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Dil Se.. (1998) and Company (2002). She has won the Filmfare Critics' Award thrice and has received four nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress so far. Although box-office collections of her films have varied considerably, critics have noted that her niche as an actor remains unharmed irrespective of her commercial potent.^[3][4] Off-screen she is frequented in the media as being a "controversy’s child" with her bohemian stance and candid comments often described as "outspoken" and "bold".^[5][6][7]

Early life and background[link]

Main article: Koirala family

Manisha Koirala was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, into the politically prominent Koirala family to Prakash Koirala and Sushma Koirala. Her grandfather Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was the Prime Minister of Nepal during the late 1950s-early 1960s, as well as two of her late great-uncles, Girija Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala. She studied at Vasant Kanya Mahavidhyalaya (VKM), Varanasi until Class X. She stayed with her grandmother in Varanasi during her studies. After passing tenth standard she shifted to the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi (APS).^[8] Her ambition was to be a doctor, but a modelling stint opened a career path into Bollywood.^[9]

Her brother Siddharth Koirala is also an actor, and collaborated with her once in the film Anwar.^[10]

In 2004, she returned from New York after receiving a diploma in filmmaking. She became a member of an independent documentary filmmaker's society.^[11]

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Her first film was Pheri Bhetaula (We Shall Meet Again), a Nepali movie released in early 1989.

1990s[link]

Her first Hindi movie was Subhash Ghai's Saudagar in 1991. The film proved to be a good beginning, as it was the biggest hit of the year.

She starred in a number of unsuccessful films during 1992-1993 until Vidhu Vinod Chopra's love saga 1942: A Love Story (1994) and Mani Ratnam's Tamil drama Bombay (1995) came out.^[12][13] Her performance in the latter was particularly appreciated and won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. She was also seen in more commercial films, such as Mansoor Khan's romantic musical Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) opposite Aamir Khan. Her role of Kiran, an ignored wife who leaves her husband and child in order to fulfill her singing talent and subsequently becomes a popular star, earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

Koirala had a particularly successful year in 1996. She received positive reviews for her performance in the drama Agni Sakshi,^[14] where she played the role of a battered wife on the run from her mentally ill husband, played by Nana Patekar. The film became one of the biggest hits of that year at the Indian box office.^[15] Later that year, she acted in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut, Khamoshi: The Musical. The film saw her playing the role of Annie, a caring daughter to deaf parents. Her performance was highly acclaimed,^[16] and won her a second consecutive Filmfare Best Performance Award, as well as a Star Screen Award for Best Actress. One critic from Channel 4 wrote, "Koirala... demonstrates the full range of her acting ability, rather than playing against it as she has had to do in more traditional films. The scene where she shouts at her father through the door, screaming and using sign language even though she knows he can neither see nor hear her, is extremely powerful."^[17] Filmfare magazine later included her performance in the film on its "80 Iconic Performances" list.^[18]

One year later in 1997, she played the leading role alongside Kajol and Bobby Deol in the thriller Gupt: The Hidden Truth. The film became one of the biggest hits of the year.^[19] She went on to collaborate once again with Mani Ratnam, and starred in his award-winning film Dil Se.. (1998) opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her role received similarly good reviews, and earned her several award nominations including the Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. Despite performing poorly at the box office in India, the film proved to be a hit overseas.^[20]

Success followed for Koirala, and she went on to act in several critically and commercially successful projects. In 1999, she starred in the moderately successful Kachche Dhaage (1999), which was followed by six more releases, the most notable of them being Indra Kumar's drama Mann. She played the role of a traffic accident victim in the film, which entered into the top five highest grossing films of the year.^[21] Her performance in the film won her favorable reviews. Film critic M. Ali Ikram wrote about her performance, "If there is 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."^[22]

2000s[link]

A portrait of Koirala by Atula Siriwardane

In 2000 she hosted the TV show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka on Zee TV alongside Anupam Kher. In 2001, she starred in the drama Grahan opposite Jackie Shroff. Her portrayal of a rape victim in the film who quests for justice was appreciated, but the film, which was a much-delayed project, was a major commercial failure. She next played the main protagonist in Rajkumar Santoshi's drama Lajja along with an ensemble cast that included Rekha, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The film received a positive reception from critics, and so did Koirala's performance.

In 2002, she starred opposite Ajay Devgan in Ram Gopal Verma's Company. The film was a critical success, as was Koirala's performance in it, and she won her third Filmfare Critics' Best Actress Award. In that same year, she appeared in Ek Chotisi Love Story. The film was released amidst controversy as she accused the director of the film, Shashilal Nair of using her body double to shoot some love scenes in the film and portraying her in bad light by shooting positions using another actress in her place, without her approval to do so. Koirala demanded that Nair re-shoot these scenes because the double's body did not match her physique and required that these scenes be deleted from the film. She later claimed that Nair had stipulated that he would re-shoot the scenes only if she agreed to bear half of the expenses. She said, "I always believed in Shashi. I did this film out of sheer goodwill. I had nothing to gain from it financially as I did the film for free. I also gave him all the dates immediately. It was his first chance to direct a film in four years. He has a family to support and I couldn't bear to see a friend in hardship." Koirala decided to sue Nair and moved the court against him, objecting to the alleged nudity and obscene postures, and pleaded that these scenes be deleted from the film, saying she had not performed in these scenes and that Nair had made use of another actress for them.^[23] Finally, the court decided to stay the release of the film.^[24]

After years of success, in 2003 she was seen in several low budget films, yet not less challenging roles. She ventured into strong woman-oriented films in 2003, such as Escape From Taliban which won her the BFJA Award for Best Actress. She then played the main protagonist in Market (2003), a film portraying the whole life story of a young prostitute. The film was a decent success at the box office.^[25]

After receiving a diploma in filmmaking, she produced the small-budget caper-comedy Paisa Vasool (2004) in which she starred along with Sushmita Sen; this was probably the first ever chick-flick in Indian cinema in that it did not have a male lead nor a love story.

Overall, Koirala starred as the leading role in 6 high-budget, successful Tamil movies: Bombay (1994) co-starring Arvind Swamy, Indian (1996) co-starring Kamal Hassan, Mudhalvan (1999) co-starring Arjun, Aalavandhan (2001) co-starring Kamal Hassan, Baba (2002) co-starring Rajnikanth and Mumbai Express (2005) co-starring Kamal Hassan.

Since then, she has played supporting and leading roles in various unsuccessful films, some of which being well received by critics, such as the historical epic drama Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005), the thriller Tum - A Dangerous Obsession (2005), and the horror film Anjaane - The Unknown (2006).

In Anwar, she played a supporting role along with her brother Siddharth Koirala, her only release in 2007.

In 2008, she made her comeback to films, with her first leading role since Mumbai Express (2005), in Tulsi, opposite Irrfan Khan. Although pre-release her comeback was described by the media as "shocking", and the film suffered from poor marketing,^[26] her performance as Tulsi, a young homemaker diagnosed with blood cancer, was well received. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Manisha Koirala sinks her teeth in this role and delivers a fine performance."^[27] She next starred in Sirf (2008), a movie about four couples from different strata of life, which portrays the lifestyle of people in metro. The film, which was released without any notice or publicity, was a major critical failure and faced a low box-office opening, with most shows being cancelled out due to its poor critical response.^[28] Her first Bengali film Khela directed by Rituparno Ghosh also released the same year along with long delayed Hindi film Mehbooba, both films released on the same day.^[29]

In December 2009, she served as the Jury member in the fifth edition of Dubai International Film Festival.^[30]

2010s[link]

In 2010, she made her foray into Malayalam cinema with Shyamaprasad's Elektra, a psycho-sensual drama based on Sophocles's ancient Greek tragic play Electra. She plays the main antagonist in the film which revolves around the concept of Electra Complex that is a daughter's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father's affection.^[31] The film premiered at the International Film Festival of India, where it was well received.^[32] Later that year, she acted in Partho Ghosh's Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De?. She also acted in her native Nepali-language film Dharmaa after a gap of 22 years since her first film.^[33]

In 2011 Koirala appeared in Mappillai, her first Tamil movie in 5 years. A remake of the 1989 film of the same name, the film saw her reprising the role originally played by the late Srividya. She was next seen in director Onir's critically acclaimed anthology film I Am, sharing the screen with Juhi Chawla; noted film critic Taran Adarsh commented, "It's a delight to watch Juhi and Manisha, after a hiatus. Both deliver striking performances - even getting the language right."^[34][35][36] Her forthcoming releases include Deepti Naval's directorial debut titled, Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Char Aane Ki Barish and Rohit Kaushik's Badalte Chehere.

In recent development she is re-teaming with director Ram Gopal Verma for his upcoming 3D horror film BHHOOoo.! which is a sequel to 2003 hit Bhoot.^[37]

Personal life[link]

On June 19, 2010, Koirala married Samrat Dahal in a traditional ceremony held in Kathmandu.^[38] The couple spent their honeymoon in Finland.^[39] They met through the online social networking website, Facebook. She was reportedly engaged in 2001 to Crispin Conroy, the former Australian ambassador to Nepal, but they broke up later. There were also reports of her dating American speaker and author, Christopher Dorris, but that relationship also ended.^[38]

Social work[link]

In September 1999, Koirala was appointed as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.^[9] She is actively involved in social work, specifically working with organizations to promote women’s rights, prevention of violence against women, and also to prevent the human trafficking of Nepali girls for prostitution.^[9]

Awards[link]

Won

• 1996, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil, Bombay
• 1996, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Bombay
• 1997, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 1997, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 2003, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, Company
• 2004, Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, Best Actress, Escape From Taliban
• 2006, Gorkha Dakshin Bahu Honoured by the King of Nepal for achievement in the Indian Film Industry^[40]

Nominated

• 1995, Filmfare Best Actress Award, 1942: A Love Story
• 1996, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Akele Hum Akele Tum
• 1997, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 1999, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Dil Se..

Filmography[link]