Born on September 19, 1976, actress Isha Koppikar's, who is best remembered for her sensuous dance in Khallas song, was born in Mahim, Mumbai. She hails from a Konkani family and graduated in Life Sciences from Ramnarain Ruia College in Mumbai. (All pictures courtesy: Isha Koppikar's Instagram account)
Before Bollywood, Isha Koppikar did several commercials. In fact, Koppikar had even participated in the 1995 Miss India contest and won the Miss Talent Crown.
Isha Koppikar did a photoshoot for acclaimed photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha while she was in college. This shoot made her popular and caught the attention of several ad agencies.
While Isha Koppikar rose to fame with the sexy item song Khallas from Ram Gopal Varma's Company in 2002, it was Hrithik Roshan-starrer Fiza (2000) that marked Isha's debut in the Hindi film industry.
But much before that, Isha Koppikar started off her acting career down south in 1998. She was 22.
Isha Koppikar made her acting debut with the Telugu movie Chandralekha in 1998 co-starring Nagarjuna. The film also starred Ramya Krishnan.
In the same year, Isha Koppikar made her debut in the Tamil film industry. She even won the Filmfare Best Female Debut (Tamil) for her film Kaadhal Kavithai in 1998.
Isha Koppikar went on to act in Hindi films like Girlfriend (2004), Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005), D (2006), 36 China Town (2006), Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006), Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love (2007), Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi (2008).
Isha Koppikar also grabbed headlines when she played a lesbian in 2004 film 'Girlfriend' co-starring Amrita Arora Ladak. Though the film invited a lot of controversies, we must say, it was way ahead of time.
On the personal front, after being romantically linked with late actor Inder Kumar, Isha Koppikar married businessman Timmy Narang on November 29, 2009. Leena Mogre and Preity Zinta apparently introduced her to the popular hotelier.
In picture: Isha with her husband and daughter.
Isha Koppikar, the mother of six-year-old daughter Rianna, looks absolutely fab at 44! Don't you agree?
18 years after her claim to fame with 'Khallas' item song, this is how Isha Koppikar looks now. The actress is enjoying her motherhood, clearly!
On her birthday, we take a quick look at a few more interesting facts about Isha, you probably didn't know:
Did you know Isha Koppikar has a black-belt in Taekwondo? She has also learned Hapkido - the highly stylised Korean martial art of self-defence.
Besides 'Khallas' from Company, Isha Koppikar has also done several item numbers including 'Ishq Samundar' from Kaante.
Isha Koppikar has worked in five different film industries - Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi films.
Isha Koppikar has changed the spelling of her name twice, first to Ishaa Koppikar and then to Eesha Koppikhar. However, in 2015, she has reverted to the original spelling of her name.
Isha Koppikar wishes to play Kiran Bedi or Indira Gandhi on-screen if a biopic on the respective great personalities is approached to her. She had told mid-day, 'I haven't exactly thought about it. I am fond of strong characters... I'd like to make one on the lives of Kiran Bedi or Indira Gandhi. Or perhaps any character that you can choose from mythology.'
Isha Koppikar is an absolute foodie, but a conservative one. 'My biggest adventure in a restaurant is limited to eating a duck and rabbit meat. I have not eaten a crocodile,' she had told mid-day once.
A true-blue Mangalorean, Isha loves her spicy tangy fish curry with rice. The actress does believe in 'eating healthy' but let's go when she wants to.
'I love the full-bodied taste of Mangalorean food. I grew up on Konkani fish curry and rice. One of my favourite dishes is Batata Saung. It is a spicy potato curry that gets its red colour from Byadagi chillies. I remember craving for it when I was away from home for my school camps. I had gone to Nepal for a school picnic when I was in the sixth standard. My desire to eat Batata Saung reached such a point that I phoned my grandmother from the hotel's reception, saying, 'Annamma, I want to eat Batata Saung once I come home',' Isha revealed to mid-day.
Isha Koppikar is a complete fitness freak and she keeps her diet plan healthy. Shedding some more light on her food habits, she said, 'Breakfast is usually egg whites and bread. I also have oats, quinoa or phulkas. Between breakfast and lunch, I have a fruit and a cup of green tea. I have replaced white rice with red rice in my daily diet as it's full of fibre. For lunch, I have red rice with a vegetable and fish or chicken curry. I don't overdo the protein intake. I balance fish, chicken, dal or paneer in a meal. Paneer I have only on days when I am vegetarian.'
We take a look at some of her candid pictures, thanks to Isha's Instagram!
When Isha Koppikar had a fan-girl moment with Sachin Tendulkar.
Isha Koppikar and hubby Timmy Narang partied with Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali Tendulkar.
Isha Koppikar shared this picture with her mother Bairal Koppikar on the occasion of Mother's Day.
Isha Koppikar while promoting her film 'FU: Friendship Unlimited' on the sets of 'The Kapil Sharma Show'.
We wish Isha Koppikar a very happy birthday!
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