Aisha, the north Malabar Muslim girl Isha Talwar played in the 2012 Malayalam super hit Thattathin Marayathu , was such a rage that wearing a thattam (veil) became fashionable, even for non-Muslims. “I could see my life changing before my eyes as I watched the film in Ernakulam’s Padma theatre. Immediately after the interval, people started asking me if they could click a picture with me. Everywhere in Kerala, people still call me Aisha. The character has given me everything.”
She’s reprising the role in the film’s Tamil remake, Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai , directed by Mithran Jawahar (his fifth remake). In the Tamil version, the Malabar setting has been replaced by the scenic landscapes of Pollachi. She feels the film’s “inherent innocence” will connect with the audience here as well. “ Thattathin Marayathu was about a man’s traditional approach to wooing a girl. In this age of Facebook and instant break-ups, it proved that romance isn’t dead after all.”
Thattathin Marayathu had the type of songs “you feel like listening to when it rains.” This, Isha says, added to her character’s mystique. She admits she’s looked her best in that film. But modelling and acting never seemed possible career choices. “How could they have been? I wore braces, growing up,” she laughs. “But after college, I decided to give modelling a shot and got paid Rs.75,000. This was at a time when I would borrow Rs.100 for pocket money. I felt mighty.”
She chased this elation, and started taking theatre and dance classes. “I realised very early on that acting was much more than just looking pretty. It helped that I made my debut with like-minded people who were happy to help me out. When I was shooting in scorching heat, I remember Nivin Pauly, in a drenched shirt and twirling an umbrella, cracking a joke to make me feel at ease. It was a great start.”
