Khallas girl Isha Koppikar talks about her first Marathi film Maat and the desire to start a production company. For Bollywood actor Isha Koppikar it was just a matter of time before she made her debut in the Marathi film industry. I have been living in Maharashtra for all these years. Since the last four-five years,there have been many offers for Marathi films,but I wanted to wait for the perfect script and role for my debut, says the 36-year-old Mumbai-based actor,who has earlier worked in cinema down south,with a number of Tamil,Telugu and Kannada films under her belt. With the script of the film Maat,written by Sambhaji Sawant,Koppikar says she found that perfect role. Maat is the story of a young and ambitious couple and their relationship. My role is of a woman passing through different phases in her life. I play the character of Reema Deshmukh,and portray her story from when shes 22 years old till she gets into her 30s, says Koppikar. Directed by Manohar Sarvankar,the film also stars Marathi actor Sameer Dharmadhikari,who plays her husband. While the screenplay and dialogues of the film are written by Sawant,lyrics are penned by Sandeep Khare and the music is composed by Salil Kulkarni. Nirmal Jani,who is known for his work in Bollywood films such as Border ,Dushman,Pyar To Hona Hi Tha,Zakhm and Toonpur Ka Superhero,has done the cinematography. Although she has lived in Maharashtra for very long,Koppikar says she had some trouble speaking Marathi fluently. Of course I know Marathi,but that is of a very informal,casual kind the kind we pick up while chit-chatting with people. Fortunately,there were many people on the sets to correct and teach me. So,it was not really difficult to pick up the language, says Koppikar,who is famous for her song Khallas from Ram Gopal Varmas Company. Currently,the actor,along with husband Timmy Narang,is busy with her hospitality ventures. There are more Hindi as well as Marathi films in the pipeline,but she doesnt want to speak about them until the deals are sealed. Im looking at a few films,but it is too early to speak about them. Right now,Im too busy with hospitality, she says. Harbouring a desire to get into other sections of filmmaking,Koppikar says that she wants to start her own production house very soon. It is still too soon,but it is something that Im working on, she adds.
