Amisha Patel is the daughter of Amit Patel and Asha Patel, sister of Ashmit Patel and the granddaughter of the famous lawyer-politician Barrister Rajni Patel who was the Congress Pradesh Committee President of Bombay. Her name is a blend of the first three letters of her father’s name Amit and the last three letters of her mother’s name Asha.
She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon High School in Bombay and graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. After she graduated, she modelled for several products an then worked in a financial company for Morgan Stanley. After returning to India she joined Satyadev Dubey's theatre group and acting in plays, upon receiving permission from her conservative parents.
Patel made her acting debut with Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). The film was the biggest hit of the year, and made her a star overnight, earning her awards for Best Debut at a number of award ceremonies. Her second release was a Telugu language film titled Badri. She played the role of Prakash Raj’s pampered sister who falls in love with Pawan Kalyan’s character. 2001 saw her appearing in the cross-border romance, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, alongside Sunny Deol. The film went on to become the top-grossing film of the year, as well as the biggest hit of the 21st century, earning RS 973 million In India. Set during the 1947 Indo-Pakistani conflicts, it featured Patel as Sakina, a Muslim girl who finds refuge in Deol’s house during the riots, and subsequently falls for him. Her performance was praised, and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award.
