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Manisha Koirala probably holds the distinction of being the foreign national (in recent times) to have made it big in Hindi films. Manisha Koirala, who hails from the royal family of India's neighbouring country, Nepal, studied in Benares and secretly nursed a desire to pursue a career as an actress in Hindi films. In spite of the fact that her family had a very staunch political background, her struggle in Bombay did not depict that one bit. She was just like any other newcomer.

When Subhash Ghai, then looking for a newcomer to be launched opposite Vivek Mushran, in the Dilip Kumar-Raaj Kumar starrer Saudagar set his eyes on this beauty, he knew he had found his heroine. And Manisha was launched by Subhash Ghai in Saudagar. The film had titans like Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar and most people believed Manisha would have very little to do in the movie. But even though her presentation in the movie was not exactly spectacular, she proved that she did have the makings of a star.

In fact, even before the release of Saudagar, Manisha had already signed some significant films. Saudagar was released in 1991 and as expected, it did not excatly work wonders at the box-office. But this Nepali beauty was lapped up by some prominent filmmakers. The most notable ones being Mani Ratnam and Vinod Chopra. Manisha was also doing movies with makers like Pahlaj Nihalani - First Love Letter and Feroz Khan - Yalgaar but they could never really exploit her talent to the optimum.

In the early years of her career, Manisha was only looked upon as an ethereal beauty. The turnabout in mindset only came with 1942 - A Love Story (1994) and Bombay (1995) - two movies which gave her ample opportunity to establish her credentials as an actress. In fact, she learnt the basics of acting while shooting for these films. Like she admits, these weren't films but a series of virtual acting lessons for her. In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Khamoshi, Manisha rendered one of her most striking performances and she generously attributed the successful portrayal of her role to Nana, who she believed had made her aware of her hitherto untapped potential.

It wouldn't be unfair to say that among the newer lot of actresses, nobody has been able to match the infinite range of characters that Manisha has portrayed over the years. Whether it was 1942 - A Love Story, Bombay, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Agnisakshi, Khamoshi- The Musical and Dil Se, the actress has proved beyond doubt that she's a performer par excellence. In fact, at one time, the expectations people had from her were so elevated that they just couldn't accept her in any ordinary, glamorous role. And that's exactly why her enlivened performances in films like Yugpurush and Gupt went completely unnoticed.

With her kind of colossal talent and awe-inspiring looks, nothing should have come between Manisha and superstardom. But if anyone did spoil the party, it was Manisha herself. She let her personal life completely overpower her professional status. Nobody really minded her unorthodox lifestyle as long as it didn't affect the quality of her work. But when that began to languish, it was evident that trouble was in store. Not only did these factors make filmmakers a bit wary of the actress but also gave her contemporaries like Karisma Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai the much-needed impetus to race past her in the late-90s.

Besides, movies like Maharaja, Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein, Kartoos, Jung, Lawaaris and Khauff didn't do her career any good either. She made one more mistake, by accepting to co-host the disastrous game show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka, with Anupam Kher, a show that promised to give Amitabh Bachchan's KBC a tough time. But that was not to be, as SDCK went to become a laughing stock and Manisha went through a humiliating phase. The show was abruptly shelved, resulting in a lot of mud slinging.

Today, Manisha is struggling all over again. But she believes now that she has her priorities right this time. That, in itself, is a respite, coming from one of the biggest stars of the 90s. Acting is not always in your genes. In fact, most of the times, one has to consciously work towards making oneself a performer. And nobody has proved it better than Manisha Koirala.