Actress Isha Talwar, known for her versatility in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, believes glamour is defined by one's personality and not necessarily by the clothes one wears. She says someone can appear glamorous even when covered from head to toe.
"I believe glamour is all about one's personality. One can be glamorous even when covered from top to bottom and not appear glamorous even in short clothes. It's like beauty and each one of us perceives it differently," Isha told IANS in an interview.
"Sometimes even when you're covered from head to toe, one can present oneself with sensual undertones to appear glamorous. Even body language makes up for being glamorous in some cases," she added.
Isha, who made her cinematic debut in a deglamorised role in Malayalam romantic-drama "Thattathin Marayathu", which was a box-office winner, says an actress need not always trade sensuality to be successful in the industry.
"It's a preconceived notion that one has to be sensual to succeed in the industry. I played a Muslim girl covered from head to toe in my debut film. It was a role sans glamour, but the film was successful. Some films demand one to be glamorous and some may not," she said.
She, of course, confesses that "since cinema is a visual medium, it is required of an actress to explore her sensual side as well and therefore sensuality doesn't rule out the option of garnering attention and a little bit of success".
Born and raised in Mumbai and a graduate in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Isha is the daughter of Bollywood filmmaker Vinod Talwar. She is trained in different dance forms such as salsa and ballet, and she featured in several commercials before making it to the film world.
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In filmdom, Isha believes it's important not to get typecast.
"It's very important to do a variety of roles. Had I played another deglamorised role after my debut film, I would have been typecast as someone fit only for such roles. That's why I followed it up with glamorous roles in different genres of films," Isha said.
Since her debut, the young actress has starred in back-to-back successful films such as "I Love Me" (Malayalam), "Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde" (Telugu) and "Thillu Mullu 2" (Tamil).
Isha, however, doesn't like to be called a successful actress yet.
"I'm a beginner. I have a long way to go to be called successful. People are referring to me as lucky charm and I'm quite happy about it. I think I have to do a whole lot of films before I can claim to be a successful actress in the industry," she said.
Does this mean she believes in quantity over quality?
"Not number of films necessarily...because sometimes even a few films with star actors can make someone successful. It depends on which film and the role one gets to essay in it. I think I have done only a few films to demonstrate my skill," she added, giving credit to her critics.
"I treat critics and audiences on par, but eventually it's the audiences who make or break an actor. Audiences pay money to watch our films and therefore they ought to be respected."
"The feedback from critics is very important. It helps a beginner like me to head in the right direction and make smart career decisions," she added.
(Haricharan Pudipeddi can be contacted at haricharan.pudipeddi@gmail.com)