Isha Koppikar

Claim Page

Isha Koppikar was born as the elder daughter in a Konkani family in Mumbai. After graduating in Life sciences from Ramnarain Ruria College in Mumbai during which time she was spotted by famous photographer Gautam Rajadhaksha, who later had her in one his photo shoots. Soon after which she went on to modelling assignments for various brands like L’Oreal, Rexona, Camay , Coca-Cola and many more famous brands, After coming out of the Miss India contest of the year 1995 with the title Miss Talent Crown. Her modelling career led to her entry in to cinema in the year 1998.

Isha Koppikar is married to Timmy Narang , a hotel business man . The couple tied the knot on the year 2009 and they have a daughter Rianna Narang.

Film Debut and rise to prominence in Telugu and Tamil cinema (1998-2001) Isha Koppikar made her actual film debut in the year 1997 through the shelved Hindi movie Ek Tha Dil Ek Thi Dhadkan thus making her official debut in Telugu comedy drama Chandralekha, which saw her pairing with Nagarjuna. The movie which saw her delivering a confident debut in the comedy of errors love triangle fetched her much of the limelight in the year 1998. She then shifted base to Tamil cinema with the romantic drama Kaadhal Kavithai in the latter part of 1998, where she co-starred with Prasanth. The movie garnered highly positive reviews and went on to be one of the biggest hits of the year with Isha Koppikar going on to receive The Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for the year which prompted many more offers coming her way like her second Tamil film En Swasa Kaatre opposite Arvind Swamy which could not continue her carry on her good start and also established her repute in a blink of an eye with actor Vijay calling on her for his next film Nenjinile, the action thriller however failed to leave a mark and end up a disaster as well with mostly mediocre reviews. After confining to a guest appearance in the super hit Jodi, who was her only release of the year 1999. She had made her presence known in the south Indian cinema and also established herself as bankable heroine in Tamil industry which proved to be her grooming grounds in the beginning of her career. Subsequent Kannada releases ( 2000) The new millennium started on a high note for Koppikar with her detour to Kannada cinema with Surya Vamsha opposite Vishnuvardhan which became a blockbuster, which she followed up brilliantly by appearing in the critical hit Hoo Anthiya Uhoo Anthiya , yet again in Kannada with Ramesh Aravind in the lead and she ended up with a dazzling hat trick success in Kannada cinema with O Nanna Nalle, which made her a famous star in south India and lead to her entry in to her home industry later on. Eventual Hindi film debut and subsequent releases ( latter 2000-2001) Isha Koppikar after coming up with back to back hits in the south Indian films like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, she was finally recognized by Hindi cinema with her debut in Hrithik Roshan ’s crime drama Fiza, which emerged with exuberant reviews and instilled the right momentum for Koppikar’s career prospects in Bollywood. But she was again called upon by the Telugu and Tamil industries for two uneventful outings Prematho Rao and Narasimha respectively. She shortly retuned to Bollywood with an item number in Prakash Jha’ s Rahul, which she followed up with a commendable performance among the lead with Arjun Rampal and Suniel Shetty , which went on to get mixed reviews. She then appeared in the ensemble comedy featuring Govinda, Juhi Chawla, Tabu and Johnny Lever in the lead where Koppikar was seen pairing with Vinay Anand. The movie which narrated the household problems of three middle class couples on the moving in of a new couple in the neighbourhood turned out to be a different mould for her as it had her in a more genuinely compelling role than her previous stereotyped outings ending her 2001 on a good note. Major career break and other successful releases ( 2002-2003) Ram Gopal Varma’s epic gangster thriller Company went on to be a game changer for her making her recognized in the high circle of Bollywood with a special appearance, as the movie was elevated to the levels of a modern day masterpiece and was one of the highest grosser of the year. After which she came up in crucial roles in successful movies like Kaante, Pinjar , Dil Ka Rishta and another career changing role playing the antagonist “Laila” in Qayamat :A City Under Threat all of which were major upward leaps in her career at that point making her a regular name in Bollywood. The anthology horror thriller Darna Mana Hai was her next outing where she appeared in the final movie “Stop/Move” of the six short movies where she co-starred with Aftab Shivdasani which narrated the story of a girl who is forced to love a guy with a peculiar supernatural power only to have a tragic ending. All the movies in the anthology were rated exceptionally by critics also setting box office records and the movie also defied conventionalism in Hindi cinema bringing about a resurgent new age cinema movement along with it. Next up in 2003 she was seen among the lead in J.P Dutta’s war drama L O C Kargil which boast of an ensemble star cast including Sanjay Dutt, Ayub Khan, Ajay Devgn, Suniel Shetty , Kareena Kapoor and many more in the lead. She was seen playing the onscreen love of Suniel Shetty , incidentally the movie which holds the record of being one of the lengthiest movie made in India till date could only have a mediocre run commercially and critically. Array of unrecognized outings (2004-2006) Koppikar however had a lean phase in the year 2004 where she appeared in back to back underperfommers like Rudraksh, Krishna Cottage, Ek Se Badhkar Ek with breathers in the form of a guest appearance in the super hit Hum Tum and also Girlfriend which had her playing a girl who falls obsessively in love with another girl who is already in a relationship with another man and was seen coming up with a stellar performance which is considered one of her career best till date where she was seen getting under the skin of the character. Latest releases ( 2005-2017) Isha Koppikar then went on to play female leads and supporting roles in notable movies like: Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005) Darna Zaroori Hai (2006) 36 China Town (2006) Don: The Chase Begins (2006) Darling (2007) Hello (2007) Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi (2008) Right Yaa Wrong (2010) Hello Darling (2010) Shabri ( 2011) Maat (Marathi -2013) Upcoming releases ( 2017) Assi Nabbe Poorey Sau , Mujhe Rang De and Looti are her upcoming productions.