Few actresses in Hindi cinema have displayed the range, beauty, and emotional intensity that Manisha Koirala brought to the screen in the 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was the timeless romance of 1942: A Love Story, the socio-political turbulence of Bombay, or the aching poignancy of Khamoshi: The Musical, Manisha left behind performances that remain benchmarks of Hindi film acting. Often underrated, sometimes overlooked, her career is a treasure chest of roles that redefined the Hindi film heroine fragile yet fierce, luminous yet layered. Here’s a look at her most remarkable works that cemented her place among the finest of her generation.
1. 1942: A Love Story (1994): Manisha Koirala beat Madhuri Dixit into play the ethereal Rajjo in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s saga of love during the time of political upheaval. Madhuri had been screen-tested but was dropped to make way for Manisha. Her exquisite beauty, as captured on celluloid by cinematographer Binod Pradhan, inspired poet Javed Akhtar to write the song Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga.
2. Bombay (1994): The classics just happened in Manisha’s career. She didn’t plan them. In fact, she was totally ignorant of who Mani Ratnam was when this film was offered to her. Manisha said no to it as it was the role of a mother of 8-year-old twin boys. It was friend, guide, and mentor cinematographer Ashok Mehta who commanded Manisha to do the film that catapulted her into the league of the greatest actresses of her times, if not all times. Bombay, like 1942: A Love Story, was the tale of love and faith during times of tremendous tumult. Manisha’s serene face reflected the turbulence of those times.
3. Criminal (1994): Not quite in the same league as Bombay or 1942: A Love Story, this Mahesh Bhatt film featured Manisha as a murdered wife and her accused husband (Nagarjuna) on the run. Though she had more scream time than screen time, her ethereal presence haunted the film as M. M. Kreem’s composition Tum mile dil khile accentuated her presence during her physical absence.
4. Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995): Mansoor Ali Khan’s unofficial adaptation of Kramer Versus Kramer about a deserted husband (Aamir Khan) trying to cope with the demands of a son when his mother suddenly leaves. Manisha had an unsympathetic role. She gave it her best shot. Though this performance is not on a par with Khamoshi: The Musical or Bombay, she nonetheless created a lasting impact.
5. Agni Sakshi (1995): Nana Patekar played an abusive wife. Manisha was the woman on the run in this dark and unconvincing adaptation of the Julia Roberts starrer Sleeping With The Enemy. Though the film was far from convincing, Manisha brought a lot of hidden angst to her character. Apparently, she was in a real-life violent relationship with her co-star when they did this film together.
6. Khamoshi: The Musical (1996): If we need one solid proof of Manisha’s acting prowess and incandescent beauty, look no further. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial debut featured Manisha as Anna, a girl trying to cope with the passionate possessiveness of her deaf-and-mute parents. Nana Patekar, who played her husband in Agni Sakshi, here played her father. Manisha’s performance was so vivid and vibrant it established her once and for all as the foremost actress of her generation, rivalled only by Tabu. Incidentally, the role was turned down by Madhuri Dixit. After 1942: A Love Story (which also had Bhansali associated with it), this was Manisha’s second career-making film handed down from Madhuri.
7. Dil Se (1998): Manisha got together with Mani Ratnam again for this underrated masterpiece about a radio journalist’s obsessive journey across India to track down a mysterious woman. Sitting in a dark corner of a wintry railway platform, Manisha’s introductory scene reminded me of Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
8. Grahan (2000): Lots of actresses have played rape victims. But none so convincingly. As a young innocent girl who loses her psychological balance after being kidnapped and repeatedly raped by a politician’s son, Manisha brought out the trauma of the victim and imparted tremendous empathy to her part.
9. Lajja (2001): An exceptional film dotted with outstanding female performances, Lajja starred Manisha Koirala as a woman on a journey trying to escape a bad marriage. Going through the gamut of experiences, Manisha gave to her character the kind of heart that was repeatedly denied to her in the roles that came her way in the past decade.
10. Do Paise Ki Dhoop Chaar Aane Ki Baarish (2013): Playing an aging desperate prostitute in her best friend Deepti Naval’s directorial debut was not easy for Manisha. In this soon-to-be-released unusual saga of the relationship between two misfits, a whore and a gay poet (Rajit Kapoor), Manisha is expected to return to her glory days of Bombay and Khamoshi.
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