Amisha Patel

Personal Life
Amisha Patel (born June 9, 1976, also known as Ameesha Patel) is an Indian Bollywood actress. 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. 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 with a supporting role in the hit Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007).
Early life and family
Amisha Patel 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. Her 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 High 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.
After she graduated, she modeled for several products and then worked at Morgan Stanley. After returning to India she joined Satyadev Dubey's theatre group and acted in plays, upon receiving permission from her conservative parents.
Acting career
Patel as the muslim girl Sakeena in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), her biggest commercial success which earned the actress her first nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Her father's schoolmate, Rakesh Roshan, offered her a position in the film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) and Amisha grabbed the opportunity. 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.