Manisha Koirala

 ( Living People ) 

In 1991, Koirala made her Hindi film debut with Subhash Ghai's directorial Saudagar, which emerged as a commercial success. According to Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com, "Critics saw sparks in Manisha, even as she was constantly referred to as Madhuri Dixit's lookalike". Yalgaar (1992), did well at the box-office and was classified as a hit. However, this was trailed by a series of films that performed poorly at the box office, including First Love Letter (1991), Anmol and Dhanwan (both 1993), which led to Koirala being labeled "a jinx" by producers.

In 1999, she starred in the successful Kachche Dhaage, which was followed by six more releases, the most notable of them being Indra Kumar's drama Mann, remake of 1957 Hollywood classic An Affair to Remember, which entered into the top five highest-grossing films of the year. Her performance in the film won her favourable reviews. Film criticism M. Ali Ikram wrote about her performance: "If there is a 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." It was a successful feature at the box office. While filming Laawaris (1999), Koirala began to get tired of her busy schedule and felt "the pressure getting to her"; she turned to alcohol for solace and developed anger issues. She also reunited with S.Shankar for Mudhalvan (1999) which went on to become one of the highest grossers of Tamil Nadu that year.

In 2001, she starred in the drama Grahan opposite Jackie Shroff. Her portrayal of a rape victim in the film who seeks justice was appreciated, but the film, which was a much-delayed project, was a major commercial failure. After starring in moderately successful she next played the 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. Her last release of the year was Moksha, opposite Arjun Rampal, which was a failure at the box office.

In 2002, she starred opposite Ajay Devgan in Ram Gopal Verma's Company. The film was a critical success and she won her third Filmfare Critics' Best Actress Award. In that same year, she appeared in Ek Chotisi Love Story. The film, when released, generated tremendous response at the box office, becoming one of the few successes of the year. The movie's release was stayed 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." Koirala's controversy with Shashikal Nair . Times of India, 6 June 2007. A court finally decided to stay the release of the film. "HC stays release of Ek Choti Si Love Story", Times of India, 5 September 2002

Koirala then ventured into strong woman-oriented films in 2003, such as Escape From Taliban, which won her the BFJA Awards. She then played the protagonist in Market, a film portraying the whole life story of a young prostitute. The film did decently at the box office and was considered 'average.'

After receiving a diploma in filmmaking in New York, she produced the small-budget caper-comedy Paisa Vasool (2004). In 2005, she appeared in various unsuccessful films such as historical epic drama , the thriller Tum - A Dangerous Obsession, and the horror film Anjaane – The Unknown and the black comedy Mumbai Express.

Her only releases in 2006 and 2007 were the black comedy Darwaaza Bandh Rakho and romantic thriller Anwar respectively, working with her brother, Siddharth Koirala, in the latter. She played supporting roles in both the films and both turned out to be commercial failures, although music of Anwar became popular.

In 2009, Koirala starred in Deepti Naval's directorial debut Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Char Aane Ki Barish which premiered at the market section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival to a positive response. Later that year, she acted in Partho Ghosh's Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De?.

In 2010, Koirala 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 antagonist in the film, which revolves around the concept of the Electra complex, which is a daughter's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father's affection. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of India, where it was well received. She also acted in her native Nepali language-language film, Dharmaa, after a gap of 22 years since her first film. 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."

In 2011, Koirala appeared in Mappillai, marking her comeback to Tamil cinema after five years. A remake of the 1989 film of the same name, the film saw her reprising the role originally played by Srividya. Her performance earned her a nomination at the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil and the film was declared a hit.

In 2012, she collaborated with director Ram Gopal Verma for his 3D horror film Bhoot Returns, a sequel to the 2003 hit Bhoot. It was deemed to be yet another comeback for Koirala, however she refused to call it a comeback because she had not been away from films for a long time. Despite the good initial response to its promos and trailers, the film turned out to be a critical and commercial failure.

Three years later, in 2015, her much delayed psychological thriller released but went unnoticed. A year later, she silently returned with the Kannada-Tamil mystery film Game where she portrayed the main female lead.

In 2017, Koirala made another Bollywood comeback attempt with the drama Dear Maya. Directed by Sunaina Bhatnagar and co-starring Madiha Imam, her role was of a middle-aged lonely woman who embarks on a journey to find love when she receives love letters. The film received mixed reviews from critics with praise directed to Koirala's performance. Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times said: "Manisha Koirala shines like a diamond in a coal mine." Suhani Singh from India Today noted that she is the "star in this mawkish coming-of-age story", while Stutee Ghosh of The Quint wrote that "Manisha Koirala's grace makes it worth a watch."

In 2019, Koirala featured in Prasthanam Hindi remake of the political thriller with Prasthanam, in which she played Sanjay Dutt's wife. Her much delayed film Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish also released on Netflix this year. It was followed by the Netflix original Maska in 2020, directed by Neeraj Udhwani.

In 2021, she appeared in AR Rahman's romantic musical 99 Songs. She then starred in an American comedy film India Sweets and Spices, directed by Geeta Malik. The film is based on Geeta Malik's own script “Dinner With Friends” that won the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in screen-writing. In 2023, she appeared in the action-drama Shehzada. Her performance was appreciated, although the film was a commercial failure.

In 2024, Koirala played the chief courtesan Mallikajaan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's series Heeramandi. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in noted, "Manisha Koirala, sporting a deep voice and her nastiest manner, gives a near-parodic role her best shot. But she is hard-pressed to portray Mallikajaan’s campy tendencies." She won a Filmfare OTT award for Best Actor, Series (Female): Drama for the role.