Neelam Kothari

Neelam Kothari Soni, better known as Neelam, is an actress who has also ventured into jewellery design.

Kothari was born and raised in a business-class family in Hong Kong. She studied at the Island School and soon shifted to Thailand with her family.

She visited Mumbai for a holiday, where she was approached by Ramesh Behl, the director of the movie Jawaani (1984).

Kothari was frequently cast opposite Govinda, and she worked in 14 movies with him, some of which are Ilzaam (1986), Sindoor (1987), Khudgarz (1987), Do Qaidi (1989), Billoo Baadshah (1989) and Taaqatwar (1989).

Another star she consistently worked with was Chunky Pandey, with whom she did films like Aag Hi Aag (1987), Zakham (1989), and more.

She also worked in two Bengali films in 1990, Mandira (1990) and Badnam (1990). The same year, she appeared as Reshma in the Marathi movie Doodh Ka Karz (1990).

She also played the role of Amitabh Bachchan's sister in the award-winning movie Agneepath (1990) that year.

She played a small but impactful role as a DJ in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which starred superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji.

She also appeared in the family drama movie Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999) as Salman Khan's sister. She was nominated for her role as the Best Supporting Actress at Zee Cine Awards in 2000.

She appeared in a web series on Netflix, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (2020), which started in 2020, along with other star wives like Seema Sajdeh, Maheep Kapoor, and link=nm12060839].

Kothari won three awards in 2019. First, she was given the Blackswan Award in 2019 for Women's Empowerment. Then, she was recognised as the Most Promising Jeweller of the year and given the Iconic Achievers Award. Finally, she won the Global Spa Fit and Fab Jeweller Award.