Manisha Koirala made her acting debut with a Nepali film, Pheri Bhetaula in 1989.
Her Bollywood debut movie was Saudagar (1991) in which she was cast opposite Vivek Mushran.
The film also starred legandary actors Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar.
Madhuri Dixit saw a photo shoot of Manisha which was done by photographer Rakesh Shreshta and recommended her to Subhash Ghai. Further, Manisha went through several look tests and auditions and was finalised for the female lead.
Before Manisha, Pooja Bhatt had also auditioned for the role. Even Divya Bharti had given a screen test but Ghai felt that she was too young for the role.
Manisha was to debut in Anokha Andaaz (1989) but the film was delayed.
Also, her film First Love Letter (with Vivek Mushran) was completed before Saudagar but as Ghai was introducing the lead pair in Saudagar, Pahlaj Nihalani had to wait for the release of his film.
Saudagar also had Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar working together after 30 years. Both were seen together in the film Paigham (1959) where Raaj Kumar slapped Dilip Kumar too hard during a scene. Dilip Kumar was offended and vowed never to work again with Raaj Kumar.
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