In 1999, Koppikar starred in the gangland movie Nenjinile starring Vijay and directed by S.

Rahman followed by a cameo appearance in Praveen Gandhi's Jodi starring Prashanth and Simran. Her next Tamil movie was En Swasa Kaatre opposite Arvind Swamy, directed by K. Her first movie in Tamil was Kadhal Kavidhai costarring Prashanth for which she won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. Her career must therefore be said to have begun with the 1998 Telugu film Chandralekha, co-starring alongside Nagarjuna, and directed by Krishna Vamsi, with music by Maestro Sandeep Chowta. The 1998 Hindi film Ek Tha Dil Ek Thi Dhadkan, directed by Shahrukh Sultan, is often stated to be Koppikar's first film, but there is no evidence the project was ever released. Film career Early years in South Indian cinema (1998–2001) Her modelling work gave her an introduction to the film industry and to her first film appearance in the Telugu movie Chandralekha in 1998. Koppikar competed in the 1995 Miss India contest, winning the Miss Talent Crown. The shoot led to work in advertising as a model, notably for L'Oréal, Rexona, Camay, Tips & Toes and Coca-Cola. While at college she appeared in a photoshoot for Indian photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha.

She graduated in Life Sciences at Ramnarain Ruia College in Mumbai.

Koppikar was born in 1976 at Mahim, Bombay (now Mumbai) in a Konkani Marathi family of Mangalorean descent.

2.1 Early years in South Indian cinema (1998–2001).

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