Neelam Kothari
Neelam Kothari Soni is a British actress and jewellery designer from Hong Kong, known mononymously as Neelam. She made her acting debut with "Jawaani" (1984) opposite debutant Karan Shah. Neelam has thereafter starred opposite Govinda in "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 was born in Hong Kong. She  is a Gujarati-Iranian. As a child, she learnt 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. After her childhood in Hong Kong, her family moved to Bangkok. Neelam was holidaying in Mumbai when she was approached by director Ramesh Behl. She decided to give acting a shot and signed for the film "Jawaani" (1984) alongside Karan Shah, Tina Munim's nephew. But the film was unsuccessful commercially. Career. Acting. Kothari's performance in  her debut film was noticed in film circles and she received offers. She later became famous in 1986 for her role in the film "Ilzaam" opposite another debutant, Govinda. She made a popular pairing with Govinda and starred with him in 14 movies and some of their films include "Love 86" (1986), "Khudgarz" (1987), "Hatya" (1988) and "Taaqatwar" (1989). She had 5 hits opposite Chunkey Pandey, such as "Aag Hi Aag" (1987), "Paap Ki Duniya" (1988), "Khatron Ke Khiladi" (1988), "Mitti Aur Sona" (1989) and "Ghar Ka Chiraag" (1989). She also worked in the Bengali film "Badnaam" (1990) with Prosenjit  Chatterjee. She was also noticed for her appearance in the 1998 film "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", where she played herself as a VJ and in the 1999 ensemble family drama "Hum Saath Saath Hain" in which she played a supporting role. Her last film was the delayed release "Kasam" in 2001, opposite Chunky Pandey. In 2020, she starred in a reality television series "Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives" which was streamed on Netflix. Jewellery designing. Even while pursuing her career in acting, she was interested in jewellery designing and was involved in her family business. She pursued 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 [V] Hits: The Ultimate Dance Collection". The song became a hit when it was featured as part of the  soundtrack of "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002). Personal life. In October 2000, Neelam married Rishi Sethia, the son of a businessman from the UK. They got divorced soon after. After a brief relationship with actor Samir Soni, she married him in 2011. After 2 years of marriage, 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, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre and Tabu. She was  acquitted by the CJM court at Jodhpur on 5 April 2018.