Isha Koppikar

The latest heart throbe after she acted in the song Khallaas from the movie Company... "Isha koppikar" was born during 1976 in India. She has acted in a number of dramas during her school days. After that she hase done modelling for four years for reputed concerns like Deepam Sarees, Ponds .... she has started her acting career in Tamil with her first films including Yen Suvaasakkaattrae, Kaathal Kavithai.

At the Miss India 1995 contest when she won the Miss Talent crown, there was only one question on her mind. "Indian beauty contestants who get the opportunity to participate at international levels wear gha-gara cholis and say namaste. But why don't they introduce themselves in Hindi, our national language?" she asks. "Contestants from other coun-tries speak in their national language, don't they?"

Isha Koppikar's sexy gaze mesmerises moviegoers as she swings and sways to Sandeep Chowta's thundering music in Ram Gopal Varma's Company. The film is making waves because of its star-studded cast, but its most memorable sequence is the dance in which Isha sings the Khallas number. If looks could kill, this Mumbai girl who started out as a model would be lethal. Tall, beau-tiful, talented, she has transformed her walk-on role into a sensational experience for moviegoers. She is no glorified prop, for she takes work very seriously.

Her roles have been sketchy-be it in Fiza, Aamdani Athani Kharcha Rupaiya or Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat. She plays second fiddle with style, and each shot has her striving for the best. With her head on her shoulders and feet on the ground, this twenty-something is ready to take on the industry. Yet, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would become an actress. Instead, she had hoped to walk in her father's footsteps and become a doctor. "I did not get enough marks to enrol for MBBS," says Isha, who graduated in life sciences from Ruia College. Modelling assignments trickled in after she did a photo shoot with Gautam Rajyadhyaksha when she was still in junior college. "Initially it used to be just one or two ads a year," she says. Besides some prominent assignments for Ponds, Camay, Rexona, Synergy, Coke, L'Oreal and Tips & Toes, she did a few ramp shows. "I did only five or six ramp shows," she says, "as I used to be plump in those days." Such candid admissions make her the person she is.

Well, she is candid on camera too. It was this qual-ity in her which fetched Isha her first film, En Swasa Katre in Tamil. In her debut role, she was cast opposite Arvind Swamy, who was at the peak of his fame following the success of Roja and Bombay. "I was a total newcomer," says Isha. The film got her rave reviews from the industry pundits in the south, who predicted that she would be the next Mumbai girl to make it to the top after Simran.Her first frays into Bolly-wood were unlucky. Her first film, Ek Tha Dil Ek Thi Dhadkan, directed by Shah Rukh Sultan in 1997, never saw the light of day. But the actress in her did. Her second film was with Tamil superstar Prashant. "I have done over ten films in the south and have worked in all south Indian languages except Malayalam," says Isha, whose performance in Tamil film Kaathal Kavithai fetched her the Filmfare award for the best newcomer in the south in 2000-01.

So why did she return to Bollywood? "I always wanted to be in Bollywood," she is quick to reply. "Mumbai is my home so Bollywood is like home ground. It would give me more kicks if I could make it here. Thank God, the Khallas song has done wonders for me." Many people asked why she had done a small role in Fiza. "I have no godfather," she says, "but I wanted to show my talent. So I accepted that role and gave it my best." It was repeat performance in her other two Hindi films.

Ram Gopal Varma signed her on, she says, "after he saw me on the cover of Just Like That maga-zine." She was offered a small role. "But ÔRamuji' said that the small role that had just a few scenes would go unnoticed and that a special appearance through a song would be better."Isha believed him. "He has bro-ken the conventional star casting," she says. "However big the stars are, they do not look out of place in Company." The star cast includes Mohanlal, Ajay Devgan, Manisha Koirala and Vivek Oberoi.

Placing full faith in the film-maker, Isha outperformed herself. "I freaked out while shooting the song," she says. "I knew if I felt uncomfortable the camera would catch it." She had never done a hot number before, and her friends were stunned. "They could not believe it was me," she says. "They never imagined I would be able to do such a hot and sexy number. I have not got a single negative reaction about the song. Nobody has told me that it is vulgar."Her parents were also supportive. "My father is very cool. In fact, he is my best boyfriend," she says. "My family is my biggest asset and my sensitivity is my strength."

Isha loves to make friends, is Net-savvy and does a lot of chat-ting. "I love dancing but no discos and pubs. I am not a night person. I start my day early," says Isha, who paints and makes candles in her free time. She is not much of a bibliophile, but is at home with self-help books.If there is something else this Konkani girl loves doing, it is gorging on her mother's cooking-she is a food freak who hankers after butter chicken, biryani, seafood and Chinese! "I can't cook, I just do the eating."

Wonder where she gets the time, considering the number of films she has on hand, including Sanjay Gupta's multistarrer Kaante, Plan with Dino Morea, a Harry Baweja venture, and Ram Gopal Varma's Road. "Ramuji has told me that he would cast me in a role that suits me," she says. Well, Isha Koppikar has finally arrived.