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Although countless stories of love stories and breakups are famous in the Bollywood industry, but in the 90s, a relationship blossomed which shook the entire film industry. This was the story of veteran actor Nana Patekar, famous for his serious, sharp and outspoken acting, and Manisha Koirala, one of the most beautiful and successful actresses of that era. Despite the huge age difference of almost 20 years, the deep attraction, love and subsequent broken relationship between the two ruled the pages of film magazines for years. Their relationship was not limited to just friendship or affair, but both of them also lived together for some time and had a live-in relationship. At a time when stars were shy of showing too much boldness on the big screen, both of them stunned the audience as well as the critics by giving very aggressive, emotional and intimate scenes in front of the camera.
Director Partho Ghosh’s psychological thriller film ‘Agni Sakshi’, released in 1996, proved to be one of the biggest blockbusters of Hindi cinema. In this film, Nana Patekar played the role of an obsessive, eccentric and possessive husband ‘Vishwanath’, while Manisha Koirala played the role of his tortured wife ‘Shivangi’. As aggressive and tense as the script of the film was, their acting in front of the camera was equally lively. As per the demand of the story, both the actors shot many very intense, emotional and close intimate scenes without any hesitation. The off-screen chemistry between the two started blossoming during the shooting itself. Nana Patekar’s powerful personality and Manisha’s innocence brought both of them very close to each other and within no time this professional relationship transformed into a serious love affair.
After the film ‘Agni Sakshi’, this relationship was not limited to just the set. According to major film magazines and media reports of the 90s, both of them decided to live together and were in a live-in relationship. Nana Patekar was living separately from his wife Neelkanti at that time, although they were not legally divorced. Manisha Koirala often spent time at Nana’s house and both did not hide each other’s presence even at public events. Nana Patekar’s nature was very simple, down to earth and a little angry, whereas Manisha belonged to a royal Nepali family and her lifestyle was very glamorous. Despite this, their love was so deep that Nana Patekar once praised Manisha in an interview and said that she is so sensitive and innocent that if someone cries, she also starts crying.
Like every love story, this relationship also took a turn which destroyed everything. Manisha Koirala wanted to give a perfect name to her relationship with Nana Patekar and aspired to marry him. But Nana Patekar was already married and was not ready to give a formal divorce to his wife. Meanwhile, the news spread rapidly in Bollywood circles that Nana Patekar’s closeness with actress Ayesha Julka also started increasing during the shooting of the film ‘Aanch’. Sharp disputes and differences of opinion started between Manisha and Nana regarding this matter. According to reports, one day Manisha saw Nana Patekar and Ayesha Julka together, after which there was a lot of uproar and Manisha withdrew from this relationship forever. The live-in relationship of both of them came to a bitter end and disintegrated.
Despite the immense bitterness and heartbreak in their relationship, both the artists never let their personal lives come in the way of their work. At the same time when the news of their breakup was hot, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast both of them in his classic film ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ (1996). In this film, both of them played the roles of deaf and mute parents and daughter, not lover-girlfriend. Nana Patekar in the role of Joseph Braganza (father) and Manisha in the role of Annie (daughter) gave such a timeless performance which is still counted among the best cinematic performances of Indian cinema. On the set, both of them maintained complete professional dignity with each other and hid their personal pain behind brilliant acting.
With the passage of time, their paths completely diverged. Manisha Koirala later saw many ups and downs in her life, defeated a deadly disease like cancer and once again hoisted the flag of her acting through the web series ‘Hiramandi’. Nana Patekar also dedicated his life to social service along with films. Even after years, whenever both of them were asked about each other, both of them never threw mud at each other, but only respected each other’s acting and talent. This relationship of the 90s is still considered to be the most talked about, intense and incomplete love chapter in the history of Bollywood.