Ameesha Patel (born Amisha Amit Patel on June 9, 1975) is an Indian actress and model who primarily appears in Hindi films with a few Telugu appearances. She made her acting debut in the romantic thriller flick Kaho Naa in 2000... Pyaar Hai was a critical and financial success, earning her several prizes, including the Zed Cine Award for Best Female Debut.
Patel rose to stardom with the 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, which became one of the biggest hits in Hindi cinema history, garnering her a Filmfare Special Performance Award. With the successful Badri (2000), she made her Telugu film debut.
Patel has also appeared in films such as Humraaz (2002), Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai (2002), and Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Race 2 (2013), among others.
For her daring appearances and cleavage photoshoots, she has become a sex icon among the young.
Background and early life
Patel was born on June 9, 1975, in a Gujarati home to Amit and Asha Patel. She is Ashmit Patel's sister and the granddaughter of Mumbai Congress Pradesh Committee President Barrister Rajni Patel, a lawyer-politician. She was born in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital and has been a Bharatnatyam dancer since the age of five. Her given name is a combination of her father's first three letters, Amit, and the final three letters of her mother's name, Asha.
Patel attended Cathedral and John Connon Schools in Mumbai and was head girl for the academic year 1992-1993 before attending Tufts University in the United States to study Bio-genetic engineering for two years before transferring to Economics.
Following graduation, Patel began his job as an economic analyst with Khandwala Securities Limited. She later received an offer from Morgan Stanley but declined it. After returning to India, she joined Satyadev Dubey's theatre group and acted in productions, including Tanveer Khan's Urdu language drama Neelam (1999), with permission from her strict parents. At the same time, she began modelling and appeared in various commercial campaigns. Patel has also modelled for a number of well-known Indian brands, including Bajaj, Fair & Lovely, Cadburys, Fem, Lux, and many others.
Rajni Patel was a lawyer and politician in the Indian National Congress. In 1986, a street in Mumbai called 'Barrisrer Rajani Patel Marge' was named after him.
Career as an actor
Initial success and debut (2000-2002)
Patel's first acting opportunity came in the shape of an offer from her father's schoolmate, Rakesh Roshan, to star in Kaho Naa... opposite his son, Hrithik Roshan. Pyaar Hai is a 2000 Bollywood film. The opportunity came right after she graduated from high school, but she turned it down because she wanted to pursue her education in the United States. Following that, Kareena Kapoor took her position, but happily, Kapoor dropped out a few days into principal photography, and Patel was given the opportunity once more during a family lunch. She quickly agreed to take on the project this time. Patel was given the opportunity to play an exuberant college girl in love who was going through a difficult time of losing her sweetheart and rediscovering a more mature relationship. The film was a spectacular success, establishing Patel as a rising star and won her Best Debut prizes at a number of award events. She co-starred with Pawan Kalyan in her second film, the Telugu language drama Badri. The film was a huge success in India, earning more than 12 crore in distributor share.
She co-starred with Sunny Deol in Anil Sharma's cross-border romance Gadar: Ek Prem Katha in 2001. Patel signed on long before she soared to fame with Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and was one of 22 girls chosen from a pool of 500 to be screen-tested for the film. Patel had a 12-hour tryout before landing the role. The film went on to become the highest-grossing film of the year and the biggest hit of the twenty-first century, generating Rs 973 million in India. Set during the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War, it starred Patel as Sakeena, a Muslim girl who seeks safety at Deol's home during the riots and eventually falls in love with him. Her performance was lauded, and she received the Filmfare Special Performance Award as well as nominations for Best Actress at several award shows. According to Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM, "despite being a 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."
These box office successes were followed by a string of box office failures. She portrayed a successful singer who was abandoned by her mother at the time of her birth in Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar (2001).
Patel had three fails in 2002. She portrayed Sapna, who is imprisoned in protective custody of her own father, in Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage. She appeared in this film for the second time with Hrithik Roshan. In contrast to their successful partnership in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, the film, was a flop on both the critical and commercial fronts. Patel's performance in the film was criticized by some in the media, but she clarified in an interview that there was a "error" because the scene explaining that her character is supposed to be asthmatic in the film was edited out without realizing that one shot would make such a difference, causing confusion to the viewer about her appearing out of breath, as if she's overacting or crying. Patel's disastrous sequel resumed in 2002 with Kranti and David Dhawan's comedy Yeh Hai Jalwa. She had little box office success the following year with Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai, in which she played a career-oriented young woman who rejects Aftab Shivdasani's character's advances. Then, in her final release of the year, Humraaz, she became the fifth highest-grossing picture of the year at the box office, and her performance got her a nomination for Filmfare Best Actress. For the first time, she played a bad character in the Abbas-Mustan marital thriller. She played Akshaye Khanna's girlfriend, who marries Bobby Deol to steal his fortune - but when she sees Bobby's honesty, her character surrenders to him. "Amisha Patel is just about okay as Akshaye's lover (first half), but splendid as Bobby's wife (second half); this performance should silence her detractors for sure; she also looks her best with admirable outfits and perfect make-up," Taran Adarsh said.
Phase of struggle (2003-2006)
Patel's acting career suffered a setback from 2003 to 2006. Following Humraaz's moderate success, she had a streak of failed films that lasted until 2006. In 2003, her only films were Pudhiya Geethai in Tamil and Deepak Bahry's Parwana in Hindi. Pudhiya Geethai was her first and only Tamil film appearance. In 2004, she released Vimal Kumar's comedy Suno Sasurjee, which had been in the works since 2000, and her second Telugu language feature Naani. She also appeared in Adnan Sami's music videos for O Meri Jaan and Hai Kasam Tu Na Ja that year.
She appeared in Satish Kaushik's thriller Vaada in 2005, as Arjun Rampal's unfaithful wife who is pursued by her obsessive ex-lover. She portrayed a TV reporter in her next film, Elaan. She later acted in Ketan Mehta's historical drama Mangal Pandey: The Rising as the soft-spoken Jwala, a Bengali widow who is saved from Sati by a British commanding officer. Patel was cast as a replacement for Aishwarya Rai on the recommendation of Aamir Khan, who was intrigued by her intelligence when he saw her on BBC's Question Time India program in 2003. The picture, which cast her in a deglamorized role for the first time, did well at the box office. Her other films that year included Zameer: The Fire Within, which had been in the works since 2001, and the Telugu feature Narasimhudu, both of which bombed at the box office.
Patel appeared in six films in 2006, all of which were commercial flops. She made her debut alongside Akshay Kumar and Karisma Kapoor in Suneel Darshan's musical drama Mere Jeevan Saathi, which had been in the works since 2003. Her second film, Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai, starred her as a blind country girl who becomes involved in a love triangle after receiving eye surgery. The production had been delayed since 2002 due to the death of its director-producer, until Patel's boyfriend at the time, Vikram Bhatt, decided to finish it. Patel played a mute girl who sees a murder in Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera, which had a limited distribution and performed poorly at the box office, with some critics labeling it "outdated." She learnt sign language to fit the part. She was then cast in Tathastu, a film based on Denzel Washington's 2002 thriller John Q.
Despite its box office flop, Patel's sixth film, Ankahee, gained her critical acclaim in 2006. Patel played a housewife whose husband cheats on her with a model in the film, which revolved around an extramarital affair. Patel consulted with her own grandmother, who had been in a similar circumstance, to better comprehend the mindset of a mistreated wife. According to Diganta Guha of the Hindustan Times, "...it's Ameesha's performance that remains in your mind. She is dignity personified in the film, playing a woman betrayed in marriage, going all out to save it, and in the end choosing her own path." Later that year, she appeared in Dharmesh Darshan's Aap Ki Khatir alongside Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra.
Success restored (2007-2009)
Patel's career prospects began to improve in 2007 after a string of box office disappointments from 2003 to 2006. Her first film was the ensemble comic drama Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.. The low-budget film was a moderate box office success. Patel portrayed Karan Khanna's chatty wife, who tries to fight her husband's homosexual tendencies. Her comic timing was well acclaimed throughout the picture. Later same year, she co-starred with Akshay Kumar in Priyadarshan's smash Bhool Bhulaiyaa as a rejected adopted girl accused of trying to destabilize her childhood crush's marriage.
Patel performed in Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008) in a bikini item number, Lazy Lamhe, in an attempt to rebrand herself. She learnt to scuba dive for the song, which took her 15 days to finish. Despite the film's failure at the box office, Patel's appearance garnered attention.
Projects that were postponed or shelved (2009-2011)
Patel signed on to two comedies following the release of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic: Run Bhola Run and Chatur Singh Two Star. Despite the fact that both films were completed in 2009, they were constantly postponed. She then tried to make a comeback by joining Rajkumar Santoshi's Power. Patel was part of an ensemble cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, and Kangana Ranaut, but the film was canceled after only eight days of filming. Despite multiple attempts to obtain a leading role, Patel pulled out of several films for a variety of reasons.
After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, she returned to the Telugu cinema business with a brief role in Parama Veera Chakra (2011), alongside Nandamuri Balakrishna; the film was a flop. In the same year, the three-year-delayed Chatur Singh Two Star finally saw the light of day. Despite the trailer and posters being launched in late 2010, Run Bhola Run remains unreleased due to the closure of the production company Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision.
Production and new opportunities (2011–present)
Patel hosted an event on April 23, 2011, to launch her production firm, Ameesha Patel Productions, in partnership with her friend and business partner Kuunal Goomer. Their first home production, Desi Magic, was released on April 2, 2013.
Patel had a cameo role in Abbas-Mustan's Race 2 in 2013, replacing Sameera Reddy as Anil Kapoor's sassy assistant. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, the picture was a box office triumph. Shortcut Romeo, a Hindi version of the 2006 Tamil film Thiruttu Payale, starred her alongside Neil Nitin Mukesh. The picture received mediocre reviews and did poorly at the box office.
On December 18, 2014, the teaser trailer for Desi Magic was released.
In 2018, she co-starred with Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta in the ensemble action comedy Bhaiaji Superhit, which had been in the works since 2012. Critics were unimpressed with the picture.
After six years in the process, her debut home production Desi Magic was completed on January 19, 2019. However, it has yet to be released owing to a legal struggle.
In the same year, she made an unusual appearance on the reality show Bigg Boss 13. For the first week, she was seen as the maalkin of the house, delegating many entertaining duties to the roommates.
Patel is expected to reprise her role as Sakeena in Gadar 2: The Katha Continues in September 2021, 20 years after its predecessor was released.
Other work and media representation
Performances on the stage
Patel's career included a number of concerts and globe tours. Her first world tour, The Roshans: Hrithik Live in Concert (2001), was performed across India with Hrithik Roshan. Patel performed on the world tour Craze 2004 alongside Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, and Lara Dutta in 2004. Patel took part in Adnan Sami's world tour Kuch Dil Se..., which took place in the United States and Canada from April 15 to May 15, 2005. She appeared in Himesh Reshammiya's comeback concert Karzzzz Musical Curtain Raiser in October 2008, alongside Neha Dhupia, Riya Sen, and Amrita Arora. In December 2008, she appeared in Akshay Kumar's Christmas Eve event Chandni Chowk to Hong as part of a promotional campaign for Kumar's film Chandni Chowk to China (2009), alongside Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Riya Sen, Aarti Chhabria, Himesh Reshammiya, and Punjabi rapper Bohemia. Many New Year's Eve events in 2009 were cancelled in response to 26/11, but Patel and Country Club India opted to go ahead with their show since they believed it would go against the terrorists' will.
Humanitarian efforts
Patel joined PETA, one of the charities advocating the cause of animals, in September 2004 as part of an advertising campaign that highlights the lives of caged animals in zoos that are deprived of their natural environments for the entertainment of people. Patel dressed as a terrified prisoner in a jail cell in order to draw attention to the situation of animals in zoos. She stated:
George Washington, Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi are just a few examples. They were available to us. Animals do not; they rely on us. Let us strive for their liberty.
Patel, along with other Bollywood artists, performed at the HELP! festival in February 2005. A telethon concert was held to raise funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. She also attended the Temptations 2005 charity event in New Delhi on December 24, 2005 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in support of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled Persons (NCPEDP), a renowned disabled rights' organisation.
Patel joined PlanetRead, an NGO that helps people in communities learn to read through film songs, in November 2006. Patel, together with John Abraham and Kirron Kher, joined the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in October 2007 to combat human trafficking in India.
In the news
Patel appeared on several talk shows between 2002 and 2005, including Rendezvous with Simi Garewal and The Manish Malhotra Show. Patel participated as a guest judge on a special Valentine's Day edition of the singing talent show Indian Idol 2 in 2006.
Patel is generally referred to as one of the most attractive Bollywood actresses. Patel was named one of Bollywood's hottest actresses and one of the top Bollywood actresses of 2001 by Rediff. She was voted eighth on Rediff.com's list of the Sexiest Actresses of 2008. Patel was also named one of Rediff's Sexiest Magazine Cover Girls in 2008. She has appeared three times on the cover of Maxim India, as well as other men's publications such as The Man, FHM, and Man's World.
Private life
Patel met filmmaker Vikram Bhatt on the shoot of their first film together, Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage (2002), in 1999, and they began dating after the film's release. Later, it produced a schism between the Patel and Bhatt families, with Patel experiencing a financial difficulty as a result of her father's use of her hard-earned money to restart a family business, producing misunderstandings between Patel and her parents. Patel served her father with a legal notice in July 2004 requesting the return of Rs 120 million in mismanaged accounts and assets. The media frequently speculated on Patel's friendship with Bhatt, speculating on a probable marriage. Patel and Bhatt's five-year romance was said to have ended in January 2008. In an interview with Mid-Day, Bhatt confirmed the breakup. Patel's parents later stated that they were eager to reunite with their daughter and that "everybody is happy about the break-up," but their relationship remained tense. Patel was pictured with London-based businessman Kanav Puri at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week on March 12, 2008. In an interview with Mid-Day in June 2008, she confirmed their relationship: "I did not admit to Kanav sooner because he's very special and I didn't want to jinx it. It was too precious for me to talk about it to people. It's almost six months now and now I am feeling secure and now I know our relationship is too strong for anything or anyone to come between us."
The Mumbai Mirror stated in August 2009 that Patel and her brother, Ashmit, had reconciled on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and were spotted together at PVR Cinemas in Juhu. Although the siblings agreed that the situation had been resolved, they opted not to discuss it publicly. During an interview with The Times of India in December 2009, Patel's mother Asha announced that they had finally ended their five-year estrangement.
In September 2010, the Mumbai Mirror claimed that Patel had ended her relationship with her long-term lover Kanav Puri in order to concentrate on her work. She verified the news on Twitter.
Controversies
An Air India employee filed a police report in August 2006, stating that Patel had misbehaved with her because her partner was not promoted to first class on the Mumbai-New York aircraft on August 18. Patel was on her way to New York for India's Independence Day parade. If the claims against her are proven, officers at the police station said Patel could be summoned and warned about her behaviour, and she would be questioned after she returned from abroad. Later, CISF personnel confirmed the Air India employees' account of the incident. When Patel returned to India, she alleged that the staff were "merely attempting to protect themselves by filing a false complaint against us." There was also an inebriated passenger who joined in on the verbal brawl. Following that, the organisers of the annual procession wrote Patel a letter apology and clarification, stating that they had reserved two first class seats for Patel and her companion on the Mumbai-New York aircraft, but the booking was automatically transferred from one flight to another, causing confusion.
 | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai | Sonia Saxena | |
| Badri | Sarayu | Telugu film | |
| 2001 | Gadar: Ek Prem Katha | Sakeena "Sakku" Singh | |
| Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar | Sarena Devan | ||
| 2002 | Kranti | Sanjana Roy | |
| Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai | Sandhya Patil | ||
| Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage | Sapna Dholakia | ||
| Humraaz | Priya Singhania | ||
| Yeh Hai Jalwa | Sonia Singh | ||
| 2003 | Pudhiya Geethai | Jo | Tamil film |
| Parwana | Pooja | ||
| 2004 | Suno Sasurjee | Kiran Saxena | |
| Naani | Priya | Telugu film | |
| 2005 | Vaada | Pooja Sharma / Varma | |
| Elaan | Priya | ||
| Zameer: The Fire Within | Pooja Khanna / Chauhan | ||
| Narasimhudu | Subba Lakshmi | Telugu film | |
| Mangal Pandey: The Rising | Jwala | ||
| 2006 | Mere Jeevan Saathi | Anjali | |
| Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai | Durga | ||
| Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera | Ammu | ||
| Tathastu | Sarita Rajput | ||
| Ankahee | Nandita Saxena | ||
| Aap Ki Khatir | Shirani Khanna | ||
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. | Pinky Kapoor | |
| Heyy Babyy | Herself | Special appearance in title song | |
| Bhool Bhulaiyaa | Radha Chaturvedi | ||
| Om Shanti Om | Herself | Special appearance | |
| 2008 | Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic | Malaika | |
| 2011 | Parama Veera Chakra | Rajni | Telugu film |
| Chatur Singh Two Star | Sonia Varma | ||
| 2013 | Race 2 | Cherry | |
| Shortcut Romeo | Monica | ||
| 2017 | Aakatayi | Herself | Telugu film; special appearance in song |
| 2018 | Bhaiaji Superhit | Mallika Kapoor | |
| 2023 | Mystery of Tattoo | Special appearance | Post-production |
| Gadar 2: The Katha Continues | Sakeena | Post-production |
| Year | Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Bigg Boss 13 | Guest | Entered as the Owner of the house |
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Amisha Amit Patel |
| Profession(s) | Actress, Producer, Model |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 162 cm in meters- 1.62 m in Feet Inches- 5' 4” |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | As an Actress Hindi: Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) Telugu: Badri (2000) Tamil: Pudhiya Geethai (2003) TV: Bigg Boss 13 (2019) As a Producer Film: Desi Magic (Bollywood, 2013) |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | Filmfare Awards • Nominated as the Best Debut Actress for 'Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai' (2001) • Nominated as the Best Actress Award for 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' (2002) • Won the Special Performance Award for 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' (2002) • Nominated as the Best Actress for 'Humraaz' (2002) |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 9 June 1976 (Wednesday) |
| Age (as of 2022) | 46 Years |
| Birthplace | Bombay, Maharashtra (present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra), India |
| Zodiac sign | Gemini |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Mumbai, India |
| School | Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, India |
| College/University | Tufts University, Boston, USA |
| Educational Qualification | A Bachelor's Degree in Commerce |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Address | 51 Shakar Building opposite to the Sydenham B-road Church Gate, Mumbai |
| Political Inclination | Indian National Congress (INC) |
| Hobbies | Dancing, Reading, Listening to Music, Travelling |
| Tattoo | A design on the left part of her stomach |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | N/A |
| Children | None |
| Parents | Father- Amit Patel (Businessman) Mother- Asha Patel |
| Siblings | Brother- Ashmit Patel (Actor) Sister- None |
| Favourites | |
| Food | Home-made Food, Chinese and Thai Cuisines |
| Actor(s) | Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, David Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda |
| Actresses | Julia Robert, Angelina Jolie, Madhuri Dixit |
| Film(s) | Bollywood- Umrao Jaan, Mrityudand, Lamhe Hollywood- Titanic |
| Singer(s) | Jagjit Singh, Sonu Nigam |
| Colour(s) | Black, White and all pastel shades |
| Perfume(s) | Dolce by Light Purple and Angel by Thierya & Mugler |
| Book | 'A Bridge Across Forever' by Richard Bach |
| Hotel | Ritz Carlton |
| Travel Destination(s) | London, Paris, Amsterdam |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection(s) | Audi Q7, BMW 730 LD, Mercedes |
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth (approx.) | $30 million (as of 2018) |
“George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi… we had them. Animals don’t; they need us. Let’s fight for their freedom.”
,-Biography,-Wiki,-Age,-Boyfriend-&-More-134.jpg "Surabhi-Samriddhi Mehra (Chinky Minky), Biography, Wiki, Age, Boyfriend & More")
