The ’90s were filled with scandals, sensational headlines, gossip and catfights. One of the most popular ones was an alleged
love triangle
involving Manisha Koirala, model
Rajeev Mulchandani
and Aishwarya Rai.
The rather unexpected controversy erupted when Manisha accused her then-beau Rajeev of a secret fling with Ash after she allegedly discovered ‘love letters’. Not one to take the cheating allegations quietly, Aishwarya went public and slammed the reports, admitting that it left her ‘shocked and disappointed’.
At the time, Manisha was rumoured to be dating Rajeev, who had been linked to Aishwarya. Reports suggested that Manisha allegedly found love letters Rajeev had written to the actress, which led to speculation about an affair.
However, in a throwback interview, Aishwarya shared how she had initially intended to praise Manisha for her performance in the 1995 film Bombay, but things took a turn when she got to know of the controversy the actress dragged her into.
She recalled being deeply affected by the rumours, saying, “I had just watched Bombay and thought Manisha was brilliant. I was even planning to send her a bouquet to congratulate her. On April 1st, Rajeev happened to call me, and I excitedly told him how much I admired Manisha’s performance. That’s when he laughed and asked if I had been reading the papers. He informed me that Manisha had claimed to have found love letters from him to me. I couldn’t believe it! It was a very rude shock.”
The star further questioned the timing of the allegations, stating, “If this was true, why didn’t this information come out in July ’94? If that was the reason for her split with Rajeev, why wait nine months to bring it up?”
She further added, “This Manisha episode really affected me a lot in the beginning. I cried like crazy. I was really hurt miserably by all that was happening around me.” She also stated that Maniha kept defending herself saying ‘she had been misquoted’.
Aishwarya admitted that even though she moved on from the controversy, it deeply affected her. The incident still remains one of the infamous controversies from Bollywood’s past.
