Get to know the actress who started her Bollywood journey alongside Salman Khan, collaborated with Aamir Khan, captured hearts nationwide but ultimately bid farewell to the industry after 20 back-to-back box office failures.
Discover the actress who rose to fame in the 90s, making her Bollywood debut alongside Salman Khan and later starring with Aamir Khan. She quickly became a national crush, delivering multiple successful films. Despite early achievements, a series of setbacks led to her stepping away from the industry after facing several box office disappointments.
Have you guessed who it is? The actress we’re talking about is Ayesha Jhulka, a well-known name in the Hindi film industry during the 1990s. Although initially set to launch her career in Sunny Deol’s Narsimha, she was replaced by Urmila Matondkar due to differences with producer Kumar Mangat.
Ayesha made her Bollywood debut alongside Salman Khan in the 1991 film Kurbaan, which was a huge box office hit, propelling her to stardom overnight. This success led to her next hit with Aamir Khan in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. Ayesha Jhulka won hearts nationwide with her enchanting performance alongside Aamir Khan in the romantic anthem Pehla Nasha from the 1992 film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.
This timeless song, still popular today, features music by Jatin-Lalit, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and vocals by Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam. Ayesha solidified her position as a leading actress of the era with successful films like Khiladi, Waqt Hamara Hai, Chachi 420, and Masoom, all released within that memorable decade.
Ayesha Jhulka’s career reached great heights in her early years in the industry. However, a downturn came after a film marked the beginning of her decline. In 1993, she starred with Mithun Chakraborty in Dalaal, which unfortunately flopped at the box office.
Following that, Ayesha only found success with a few films, while most of her projects failed. Despite a hit with Chachi 420, she faced a rough stretch of 20 consecutive failures. Her last theatrical release, the romantic action thriller Genius in 2018, also disappointed, leading to her exit from Bollywood.
Although she took a break from the big screen for a while, Ayesha made a comeback in 2022 with her OTT debut in the suspense drama series Hush Hush on Amazon Prime Video. In 2023, she appeared in the family comedy series Happy Family: Conditions Apply on the same platform.
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