JOIN USOne might remember her as Shah Rukh Khan’s girlfriend in the 2006 remake of ‘Don’, the Khallas girl in ‘Company’ and more recently, as the protagonist in Lalit Marathe’s film, Shabri. Metrolife spoke to actress Isha Koppikar when she was in town recently.
Though she’s been off the radar for the last two years, she is ready to make her comeback, interestingly with her debut in the Marathi film industry. “I’m doing a Marathi film called Maat by Manohar Sarvankar. I realised that I’ve done a lot of Bollywood and South Indian films, but this was the one that was left,” says Isha, who has been busy learning the language. “It feels good to be coming back because acting is my first love. I love the camera,” she smiles.
She confesses that she is in love with the script and that the producer is fantastic. “Apart from films, I’m also getting into hospitality, which I’ve been working on for the last two years. That’s my baby and it should launch in the next couple of months,” she notes excitedly.
According to her, it’s necessary to be selective when picking a film to work on. “You have to look at how good the script and storyline is, how much potential it has as a film and of course, your role. The producer’s very important because it’s not only about how well you make a film, but also, how well it reaches the audience,” shares the 33-year-old, adding that her dream directors would be Steven Spielberg, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani.
The nature of challenges as an actress has enormously changed since she started her career in 1998 with Tamil film, Kaadhal Kavithai. But she owes this to the kind of films that are made right now. “People are accepting new ideas and thoughts. At the same time, they reject films without even thinking for a second how much has gone into its making. One just has to know the pulse of the audience and make whatever he or she wants to make with conviction,” explains the actress.
It’s hard for an outsider not to like Bangalore — and she is no different. She says, “I’m coming here after three years and I just love being back! I have lots of friends and relatives here. Plus, the food here’s fantastic. There was a place called Casa Picola, which used to be very nice. I’m planning to check out UB City as well.”
On the portrayal of women in films and item numbers, she believes that the trend will not come to a halt. “I don’t understand why anything that’s female-oriented should take a backseat. It’s not the woman’s fault but that of perverse men in this society. Corruption and netas, who are making stupid remarks, should be removed if we want to revolutionise the system,” she concludes.
RK