Ameesha Patel (pronounced [əˈmiːʂaː pəˈʈeːl]; born Amisha Amit Patel on 9 June 1976) is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a Filmfare Special Performance Award. She would subsequently star in a number of films, most of which proved unsuccessful at the box office. However, her performance in the 2006 film Ankahee, received critical recognition and she followed it in 2007 with a supporting/comic role in the multi-starrer hit Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. and also co-starred opposite Akshay Kumar in the hit Bhool Bhulaiyaa. In 2011, she founded her own production company Ameesha Patel Productions, along with her business partner Kuunal Goomer. Her relationship with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt was often talked about in the Indian media as well as her long-running rift with her parents.
- Early Life and Background
Patel, a Gujarati, is the daughter of Amit Patel and Asha Patel, sister of Ashmit Patel and the granddaughter of the famous lawyer-politician Barrister Rajni Patel who was the Congress Pradesh Committee President of Mumbai. She was born in the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer since the age of five.
Her birth name is a blend of the first three letters of her father's name Amit and the last three letters of her mother's name Asha. She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and was head girl for the academic year 1992–1993 before heading overseas to study Economics at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Patel's career began as an economic analyst at Khandwala Securities Limited after graduation. Later on, she received an offer from Morgan Stanley but turned it down. After returning to India, she joined Satyadev Dubey's theatre group and acted in plays, including an Urdu language play titled Neelam (1999) that was written by Tanveer Khan, upon receiving permission from her conservative parents. At the same time she plunged into modelling appearing in several commercial campaigns. Patel has also modelled for well-known Indian brands like Bajaj Sevashram, Fair & Lovely, Cadburys Jai Lime, Fem, Lux and many more.
- Acting Career
Patel's first opportunity for acting came in the form of an offer from her father's schoolmate, Rakesh Roshan, to star opposite his son, Hrithik Roshan, in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). The offer came immediately after she graduated from high school but she refused the project because she wanted to continue her education in USA. Afterward, Kareena Kapoor replaced her but luckily, Kapoor dropped out a few days into principal photography and Patel was given the opportunity once again during a family lunch.
She readily agreed to do the project this time. The role of an exuberant college girl in love, undergoing a tortuous time at losing her lover and rediscovering a more mature relationship gave Patel scope to perform. The film was a smashing success and established Patel as a rising star, earning her awards for Best Debut at a number of award ceremonies. In her second film, the Telugu language drama Badri, she starred opposite Pawan Kalyan. The film was a major success, grossing more than Rs 120 million in India.
2001 saw her appearing in Anil Sharma's cross-border romance, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, alongside Sunny Deol. Patel signed on much before she shot into the limelight with Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and was among 22 girls that were screen-tested from 500 girls who came to audition for the film. Patel had gone through a 12-hour audition before she got the part. The film went on to become the top-grossing film of the year, as well as the biggest hit of the 21st century, earning Rs 973 million in India.
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Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, it featured Patel as Sakeena, a Muslim girl who finds refuge in Deol's house during the riots, and subsequently falls for him. Her performance was praised, and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award, as well as nominations for Best Actress at various award ceremonies. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM concluded, "Despite being one-film-old, Amisha Patel deserves full marks for handling the complex role with elegance. She looks the character she is portraying and impresses with a natural performance." The film was perceived as being excessively anti-Pakistani.
