Neelam Kothari

Neelam Kothari Soni, known mononymously as Neelam, is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She was born on 18 July 1968 in hongkong. She made her acting debut with Jawaani (1984). And, followed it in various films such as Love 86 (1986), Ilzaam (1986), Sindoor (1986), Khudgarz (1987), Hatya (1988), Farz Ki Jung (1989), Taaqatwar (1989) and Do Qaidi (1989). She starred opposite Chunkey Pandey in films Aag Hi Aag (1987), Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Khatron Ke Khiladi (1988), Billoo Badshah (1989), Ghar Ka Chiraag (1989), and Mitti Aur Sona (1989). Early life Neelam Kothari Soni was born in Hong Kong to a Gujarati Indian father Shishir Kothari and Iranian 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 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 in her debut film was noticed and she received many offers. She gained popularity from her role in Ilzaam (1986) opposite debutant Govinda. She made a very popular pairing with Govinda and they starred in 14 movies. The bigger hits amongst them include Love 86 (1986), Khudgarz (1987), Hatya (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 (1990) with Prosenjit Chatterjee.