Before establishing herself in Bollywood with roles in films like Shah Rukh Khan’s Don and Ram Gopal Varma’s Company, Isha Koppikar faced a bruising start to her acting journey in the South film industry. In a recent interview, the actor opened up about being humiliated by a choreographer during her debut Telugu film W/o V. Vara Prasad (1997), where she had appeared in a song sequence.Sharing the incident, Isha told Digital Commentary, “It happened in South. And it was just the beginning. I already had two films. So, it was before Bollywood. When I was on the set, there was a lot of dance. You know South dance. They’re not easy.”The choreographer, she recalled, publicly shamed her on set in front of the entire unit, accusing her of being a clueless Bollywood import. “He told me in front of everyone, ‘These girls come from Bollywood. They don’t know anything. I don’t know why they take them… If you don’t know dance, then why did you come here?’”‘I cried in my van… then I called Usha ji’Isha said she was devastated by the criticism. “I felt very bad. I felt humiliated. I went into my make-up van and I cried.” But instead of letting the moment defeat her, she turned it into a motivator. “I took it as a challenge. I said next time when I come to the South, I will dance very well. I will not give anyone a chance to speak like this.”
Determined to improve, she reached out to Saroj Khan’s assistant Usha ji. “I told Usha ji, ‘I want to learn dance. You come and teach me all the songs of Saroj ji.’ She took out time and came to my house in Mahim and taught me daily.” Isha trained on classic Bollywood numbers like Taal Se Taal Mila and Mujhe Rang De, which she says covered all the major moves used in the industry.How Khallas changed the gameDespite all the dance training, Isha notes that ironically, her breakthrough item number Khallas in Company didn’t have too much choreography. “If you look at it, there is not much dance in Khallas, but people felt that I know how to dance. Because I had gained confidence. A lot of confidence.”She credited Khallas director Ram Gopal Varma and choreographer Ganesh Acharya for giving her the confidence to shine. “Ramu came to me and said, ‘I have made this set for you. You should feel that this is your father’s set. I want such an attitude.’ So I said, ‘Okay. If it is my father’s, then I will bring the same attitude.’ And then Khallas happened and magic happened.”
