There were huge expectations from this actress hailing from an illustrious Nepali family (her grandfather was the first Prime
Minister of democratic Nepal). But all of them came crashing down as Manisha Koirala has sadly enough have somewhere lost the spark and her filmi career turned into a checkered pattern with more downs and less ups.
The charming beauty was once slated to be Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit's successor. In fact, she has often been accused of modeling herself after the former. And when she bagged the coveted lead role in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '1942: A Love Story' (1993) that was originally meant for Madhuri , she created quite a stir.
It was her inclusion in this film that prevented Manisha's relegation into history as another one-film wonder. For, all the way from her sensational debut in Subhash Ghai's 'Saudagar' (1991) to her upcomin film Ek Second...Jo Zindagi Badal De?, she has done some odd 67 films in her career spanning two decades, but Manisha had achieved precious nothing.
Manisha was recognized despite having established stars like Rajkumar and Dilip Kumar, She couldn't have expected much from the likes of 'First Love Letter' (1991), 'Yalgaar' (1992), 'Dhanwaan' (1993) in any case.
But under Chopra's watchful eye, she transformed into a pristine beauty. Not only did Manisha look incredibly innocent and vulnerable in this period drama, she also executed the demanding role of a freedom fighter's daughter torn between two worlds, with amazing conviction.
And then followed it up with two more towering acts in Mansoor Khan's 'Akele Hum Akele Tum' (1995) and Mani Ratnam's 'Bombay' (1995). These three films confirmed the fact that Manisha was one of the most accomplished actresses on the scene.
A few hiccups later, she portrayed another exciting character in 'Agnisakshi'. But her stock really soared skyward with the bilingual super-hit ' Hindustani ' (1996) and a memorable performance in Sanjay Bhansali's 'Khamoshi - The Musical' (1996) _ a film that brought out the best in her. Playing a character caught between the silent world of her deaf and mute parents and the prospect of a fruitful singing career, she lent immense credibility to the dilemma of an individual trying to strike the right balance, as she'd done in '1942…', 'Akele Hum...' and 'Bombay'.
Her next commercial venture was Rajiv Rai's ' Gupt', which may have had little to offer by way of meat, but was still important because of it's huge success. And then came 'Dil Se..' (1998), Mani Ratnam's first Hindi film and his second with Manisha after 'Bombay'. While it turned to be a complete washout at the box-office, it was, perhaps, Manisha's greatest moment as an actress. In a role executed with acute sensitivity and defined by the art of understatement, her delicate face offered a range of expressions and emotions with rare finesse. Sadly, there's been nothing to write about her films after 'Dil Se ’. Except, juicy titbits from her personal life that provide ample for the gossip mills to run, there is not much to say.
On the professional front, Manisha has either picked up inconsequential roles ('Kachche Dhaage ' (1999), 'Baaghi' (2000)) or lent her name to a string of no-starters ('Mann' (1999), ' Khauff' (2000)).
Some of her other movies include Mann; Grahan, Khamoshi, Gupt, Dil Se, Company, Market, Paisa Vasool and Tum. Unfortunately, there's very little to look forward to as well. It's perhaps not appropriate to wonder if this is the end of the road for her, but it is going to take something really special to put her career back on track.
