AMEESHA PATEL

AMEESHA PATEL – Film Actress

Ameesha Amit Patel (born on 9 June 1975) 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 Bombay. She was born in the Breach Candy Hospital in Bombay and is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer since the age of five. She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay 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.

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. 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. The film was perceived as being excessively anti-Pakistani.

These successes were followed by a series of films that flopped at the box-office. In Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar (2001), she played a successful singer who was abandoned by her mother at the time of her birth.

In 2002, Patel had three failures but her last release, Humraaz, became one of the highest grossing films of the year at the box office, and her performance earned her a nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. The Abbas-Mustan marital thriller saw her playing a character with negative shades for the first time. She played the girlfriend of Akshaye Khanna, who marries Bobby Deol to grab his wealth – but, seeing Bobby's honesty, her character surrenders to him. During 2003 to 2006, Patel's acting career entered a slump. Despite the relative success of Humraaz, Patel's string of unsuccessful films followed and would continue until 2006, although she did find minor box office success with Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai, in which she played a career-oriented young woman who rejects the advances of Aftab Shivdasani's character. In Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage, she played the role of Sapna who is caged in protective custody of her own father. She co-starred opposite Hrithik Roshan for the second time in this film. Unlike their successful pairing in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, the film proved to be a disappointment and resulted in a critical and commercial failure. Patel's performance in the film was criticised by a section of the media, but during an interview she clarified that there was an "error" because the scene explaining that her character is supposed to be asthmatic in the film was edited out not knowing that one shot would make such a difference, thus creating confusion to the viewer about her appearing out of breath, as if she's overacting or crying.

Consequently, Patel's unsuccessful follow-up continued with Kranti and David Dhawan's comedy Yeh Hai Jalwa in 2002, followed by her first Tamil language film Pudhiya Geethai and Deepak Bahry's Parwana in 2003. Her releases in 2004, Vimal Kumar's comedy Suno Sasurjee, a delayed production since 2000, and her second Telugu language film Naani, followed. That year she also appeared in the music video for "Kasam" and "Kasam (Unplugged)" by Adnan Sami.

In 2005, she starred in Satish Kaushik's thriller Vaada, playing the role of Arjun Rampal's unfaithful wife who is followed by her obsessive ex-lover. In her next release, Elaan, she played a TV reporter. She later appeared in Ketan Mehta's historical drama Mangal Pandey: The Rising where she played the role of the soft-spoken Jwala, a Bengali widow who gets rescued from committing Sati by a British commanding officer. Patel was cast as a replacement for Aishwarya Rai under the recommendation of Aamir Khan who was impressed by her IQ level when he saw her on BBC under the segment of Question Time India in 2003. The film, which saw her appearing without make-up for the first time, did an average business despite becoming a major grosser. Her other releases that year include Zameer: The Fire Within, a delayed production since 2001, and the Telugu film Narasimhudu, both which proved commercial and critical failures.

Patel featured in six films in 2006, all which failed commercially. She first starred in Mere Jeevan Saathi, a production that had been delayed since 2003. She next appeared as a blind girl in Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai, another delayed production since 2002. The film had a limited release and flopped badly with some critics describing it as "outdated". In Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera, she played the role of a mute girl who witnesses a murder. She learned the sign language in order to fit the role. Patel was next cast in Tathastu, based on Denzel Washington's thriller John Q (2002). Her performance as the helpless mother was not well received.

Patel's fifth release in 2006, Ankahee, earned her critical praise despite its failure at the box office. The film centred around an extramarital affair with Patel playing a housewife whose husband cheats on her with a model. To understand the mentality of a wronged wife, Patel spoke to her own grandmother who had undergone a similar situation. Later that year, she appeared alongside Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra in Dharmesh Darshan's Aap Ki Khatir.

After appearing in a series of box office flops during 2002–2006, Patel's career prospects began to improve in 2007 when she saw moderate success with Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., playing the role of Karan Khanna's talkative wife who tries to overcome her husband's gay leanings. Patel's comic timing in the film was well received. She later co-starred opposite Akshay Kumar in Priyadarshan's hit Bhool Bhulaiyaa as a rejected adopted girl who is accused of trying to disrupt the marriage of her childhood crush.In an attempt to renew her image, Patel appeared in a bikini item number, Lazy Lamhe, in Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008). She learned scuba diving for the song that took 15 days to complete. Although the film flopped at the box office, Patel managed to garner attention for her appearance. 

Post the release of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Patel signed on to Run Bhola Run and Chatur Singh Two Star. However, both films were continuously delayed despite reaching completion in 2009. She next attempted a comeback by signing on to Rajkumar Santoshi's Power, but the film was shelved. Despite repeated attempts to land a starring role, Patel dropped out of several projects due to various reasons. Following a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical, Patel made a brief comeback to the Telugu film industry with Parama Veera Chakra (2011) alongside Nandamuri Balakrishna; the film flopped. Chatur Singh Two Star released in the same year and marked her return to Hindi cinema after three years since the release of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. However, the film was poorly received both critically and commercially.

On 23 April 2011, Patel hosted an event launching her production company, Ameesha Patel Productions, in collaboration with her friend and business partner Kuunal Goomer.David Dhawan and Priyadarshan were signed on to direct films for her banner.

In 2013, Patel co-starred in Abbas-Mustan's Race 2 as Anil Kapoor's ditzy assistant. Despite being a critical failure, the film was a commercial success. Patel is set to star alongside Neil Nitin Mukesh in Susi Ganeshan's Shortcut Romeo, a Hindi remake of his own 2006 Tamil hit Thiruttu Payale. As of February 2013, Patel will resume filming Bhaiyyaji Superhitt opposite Sunny Deol.

Ameesha is said to have been in relationships with Vikram Bhatt and Kanav Puri. However, both the relationships have not materialized into marriage.