Manisha Koirala, Living Life Dil Se at 44

Manisha Koirala, who turns 44 today, has successfully battled ovarian cancer and spent the past year practicing yoga and meditation, and catching up with old friends from the film industry. The actress, who says she is ready to return to films, is back in the news for being a possible contender for the lead role in a bipoic on yesteryear actress Meena Kumari.

Here is a look at her Bollywood journey as she turns a year older.

Manisha Koirala was born in Kathmandu on August 16, 1970 into a family prominent in Nepali politics. Her grandfather, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959-1960 and her father Prakash Koirala has been a cabinet minister.

She has a younger brother named Siddharth who featured with her in the movie Anwar.

Manisha went to school in Varanasi, where she lived with her grandmother, and New Delhi. She aspired to become a doctor, but a stint in modelling led her to opt for films as a career.

The actress made her film debut in the Nepali movie Pheri Bhetaula in 1989. In 1991, she burst into Bollywood opposite legendary actors Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar in Subhash Ghai's film Saudagar. The movie turned out to be a hit and there was no looking back for the actress.

After her grand Bollywood debut, she featured in films like Yalgaar (1992), Insaaniyat Ke Devta (1993) and Dhanwan (1993) which failed miserably at the box office.

In 1994, Manisha starred in 1942: A Love Story which became her blockbuster mojo at the box office. She was critically praised for her role in the movie and was nominated for a Filmfare Best Actress Award that year.

She maintained her winning streak with the critically acclaimed Tamil film Bombay directed by Mani Ratnam. Her performance as the Muslim wife of a Hindu man caught in the Bombay riots won her the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

Manisha Koirala was singled out for praise for her performance in movies like Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) and Agni Sakshi (1996).

In 1996, Manisha won her second Filmfare Critics Award for her role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut film Khamoshi: The Musical. She played the daughter of a hearing and speech impaired couple.

In the late 1990s, Manisha delivered several commercial as well as critically acclaimed hits like Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), Dil Se (1998) opposite Shah Rukh Khan, Kachhhe Dhaage (1999) and Mann (1999) opposite Aamir Khan.

The beginning of the new millenium saw the actress delivering some powerful and critically acclaimed performances in movies like Grahan (2000) in which she played the role of a rape victim and Lajja (2000) where she featured with two other leading ladies of Bollywood - Rekha and Madhuri Dixit.

The same year, Manisha Koirala also debuted on the small screen with the TV show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka, which she hosted with Anupam Kher.

In 2002, Manisha Koirala featured in Ram Gopal Varma's film Company for which she won her third Filmfare Critics' Award.

The same year, Manisha Koirala filed a case against director Shashilal Nair for allegedly using a body double without her permission for some scenes in the controversial film Ek Choti Si Love Story.

In 2003, Manisha continued to deliver powerful performances in movies like Escape From Taliban (2003) and Market (2003), but the films failed to make a mark at the box office.

From then, her career spiraled downwards with the actress featuring in low budget films like Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005), Tum - A Dangerous Obsession (2005), Anjaane – The Unknown (2006), Anwar (2007) which turned out to be box office duds.

Apart from Bollywood, Manisha Koirala has also featured in several regional hit films like Indian (1996), Mudhalvan (1999), Baba (2002), Rituparno Ghosh's Khela (2008) and Mappillai (2011).

Manisha Koirala married Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal in 2010 but there were rumours of a rift after just six months, when she posted a Facebook status update that hinted at trouble. She reportedly ended her marriage soon after.

In 2012, Manisha made a comeback in Ram Gopal Varma's film Bhoot Returns, a sequel to the 2003 horror flick, Bhoot. The film failed miserably at the box office.

In November 2012, the actress was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and she underwent a successful surgery in New York. She returned to Mumbai the following year in June and recently announced that she was cancer free after following a strict fitness regime.

Manisha Koirala recently revealed that she wanted to see herself on the silver screen but was not interested in doing small roles.

Here's wishing the actress a peaceful and successful year ahead and many more movies to come.