Manisha Koirala belongs to a politically prominent family. As an experiment, she made her acting debut in 1989 with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula during a break after her board exams

Manisha aspired to become a doctor and moved to Delhi. However, she signed up for a couple of modelling assignments and gradually shifted her focus to acting

She was cast for Subhash Ghai's Saudagar (1991) and it was her Hindi debut. The film was a box office hit and opened many doors for Manisha

After the success of Saudagar, Manisha's next few films like First Love Letter (1991), Anmol and Dhanwan (both 1993) failed at the box office and she was labeled 'a jinx' by producers

Manisha bounced back with 1942 A Love Story and her journey to stardom began 

Manisha wasn't Vidhu Vinod Chopra's first choice for 1942 A Love Story. He had chosen Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor as they were a hit pair. After rejecting her first screen test, the director signed Manisha based on her second audition 

Manisha did her first Tamil film, Bombay, in 1995 at a time when her contemporaries advised her to not do non-Hindi films. The risk and efforts paid off

Manisha acted in Agnisakshi (1996). During the film's shoot, she fell in love with Nana Patekar but they broke up in 2003. Reports claim that physical abuse on his part could have been one of the reasons

Manisha's second Tamil film was Indian in 1996 with Kamal Haasan. It was India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards

Manisha was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's OTT debut 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar'

 The show continues to have a resounding cultural impact, with fans creating reels and posts inspired by Mallikajaan and Fareedan’s dialogues

Manisha Koirala essayed the role of Mallikajaan, queen of Shahi Mahal. She governs over an aristocratic courtesan house

Set against the backdrop of India's struggle for independence in the 1940s, the show explores the lives of courtesans and their patrons, delving into the cultural dynamics of Heera Mandi

Earlier, Manisha was seen in the role of Kartik Aaryan's mother in Shehzada. In an interview, she admitted that it was ‘tough’ on her ego to play his mother after being the leading lady in films for the longest time

Happy Birthday Manisha Koirala!