Neelam Kothari Soni (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kothari; born 9 November 1969), known mononymously as Neelam, is an Indian actress who worked in

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

. She made her acting debut with '' Jawaani'' (1984), followed it in various films opposite

Govinda Govinda (, ), also rendered Govind, Gobinda, and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu and his avatars, such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in the ''Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addressed to ...

such as '' Love 86'' (1986), '' Ilzaam'' (1986), ''

Sindoor Sindoor (, ) or sindura (,) is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red or maroon Cosmetics, cosmetic powder (substance), powder from South Asia, usually worn by marriage, married women along the part of their hairline. In Hindu communities, ...

'' (1987), ''

Khudgarz () is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language action drama film, produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan under the Film Kraft banner. It features an ensemble cast of Jeetendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Govinda (actor), Govinda, Bhanupriya, Amrita Singh and Neel ...

'' (1987), ''

Hatya ''Hatya'' (translation: ''Murder'') is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language drama thriller film directed and produced by ''Kirti Kumar''. Released on 3 June 1988, the film stars an ensemble cast of Govinda, Neelam, Sujitha, Anupam Kher, Babu Ant ...

'' (1988), '' Farz Ki Jung'' (1989), '' Billoo Badshah'' (1989), '' Taaqatwar'' (1989) and '' Do Qaidi'' (1989); simultaneously starred opposite Chunky Pandey in films '' Aag Hi Aag'' (1987), '' Paap Ki Duniya'' (1988), '' Khatron Ke Khiladi'' (1988), '' Ghar Ka Chiraag'' (1989), and '' Mitti Aur Sona'' (1989).

Early life

Neelam Kothari Soni was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

to a Gujarati Jain father Shishir Kothari and

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

mother Parveen Kothari. As a child, she learned to play the keyboard and danced Jazz Ballet. Her family has a traditional jewellery-making business, making high-class pieces. She was educated at Island School, where she was a member of Rutherford House. When she was a teenager, her family moved to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. When Neelam was on vacation in Mumbai she was approached by director Ramesh Behl. She decided to give acting a shot and signed '' Jawaani'' (1984) alongside Karan Shah, Tina Munim's nephew.

Career

Acting

Though not a big hit commercially, Neelam's

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

in her debut film was noticed and she received many offers. She gained popularity from her role in '' Ilzaam'' (1986) opposite debutant

. She made a very popular pairing with Govinda and they starred in 14 movies. The bigger hits amongst them include '' Love 86'' (1986), ''

'' (1987), ''

'' (1988) and '' Taaqatwar'' (1989). She gave five hits with Chunkey Pandey - '' Aag Hi Aag'' (1987), '' Paap Ki Duniya'' (1988), '' Khatron Ke Khiladi'' (1988), '' Mitti Aur Sona'' (1989) and '' Ghar Ka Chiraag'' (1989), out of the eight films she costarred with him (the other three were '' Zakham (1989 film)'', '' Khule-Aam'' and a Bengali film, '' Mandira)''. She has also worked in the Bengali film ''

Badnam (English language, English: Infamous) (Bengali language, Bengali: বদনাম) is a 1990 Bengali language, Bengali action Film, action drama film directed by Shibu Mitra and produced by Ms. Rupanjali. The film stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, ...

'' (1990) with

Prosenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors of modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the son of Bollyw ...

. Neelam has also appeared in the popular '' Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998) where she played herself as a VJ and the ensemble family drama '' Hum Saath Saath Hain'' (1999) in which she played a pivotal supporting role. Her last film was the much-delayed Kasam (2001) opposite Chunky Pandey. In 2020-22 she has appeared alongside ''Maheep Kapoor'', ''Bhavna Pandey'' and ''Seema Sajdeh'' in 3 seasons of the reality television series '' Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives'' that streamed on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Jewellery designing

Even while pursuing her career in acting, she was interested in jewellery designing and was involved in her family business. She followed a formal course in jewellery-designing in Mumbai and, after quitting films temporarily in 2001, started out commercially on her own under the name Neelam Jewels. She opened a showroom in Mumbai in 2004. She then launched her jewellery store in Mumbai on 25 August 2011 under the name Neelam Kothari Fine Jewels.

Other works

Neelam featured in Bina Mistry's ''Hot Hot Hot'' music video, a song that is part of a compilation of dance hits in the 1995 BMG release, titled ''Channel Hits: The Ultimate Dance Collection''. The song became a hit when it was featured as part of the soundtrack of ''

Bend It Like Beckham ''Bend It Like Beckham'' is a 2002 Sports film, sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anu ...

'' (2002).

Personal life

In October 2000, Neelam married Rishi Sethia, the son of a businessman from the UK but they got divorced soon after. After a brief relationship with actor Samir Soni, she married him in 2011. In 2013, they adopted a daughter and named her Ahana. In 1998, Neelam was charged with the Wildlife Act and the IPC for the poaching of two blackbucks in Kankani during the filming of ''Hum Saath Saath Hain'', along with co-stars

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. The titular head of the Pataudi family since 2011, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore a ...

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre Behl (born 1 January 1975), known professionally as Sonali Bendre, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Bendre s ...

and Tabu. She was acquitted by the CJM court at Jodhpur on 5 April 2018.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kothari, Neelam Living people Gujarati actresses 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses 20th-century Hong Kong actresses 21st-century Hong Kong actresses 20th-century British actresses 21st-century British actresses Indian people of Iranian descent Hong Kong people of Indian descent Hong Kong people of Iranian descent British people of Indian descent British people of Iranian descent British people of Gujarati descent Actresses from Mumbai Artists from Mumbai Indian film actresses Hong Kong film actresses British film actresses Indian television actresses Hong Kong television actresses British television actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Marathi cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Hindi television Indian jewellery designers British jewellery designers People educated at Island School Indian expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriate actresses in India Indian expatriates in Thailand 1969 births