isha koppikar sizzle Indian Idol

Isha Koppikar danced to fame with an item number, It was an unconventional route that she took to get noticed. Khallas, the item song from Company, silenced many of her critics who thought girls with no godfathers don't make it big in Bollywood. It was not easy for her to break out of the item girl mould. But she has moved on to better and bigger roles.

Though still remembered for her Khallas number Isha Koppikar who is just back from her long shooting schedule for Farhan Akhtar's Don is going to perform live for the grand finale of Indian Idol on Saturday, April 22. "I am going to perform three numbers," says Isha who surprised everyone with her fiery performance in Ekta Kapoor's sex comedy Kya Kool Hain Hum.

The paan-chewing inspector who acted tough with eve-teasers and women molesters before getting soft-hearted on Tushar Kapoor will obviously dance to the tune of Khallas on Indian Idol stage. After setting the mood for the evening she will sizzle to the tune of Chaska from Kya Kool Hain Hum, which will be followed by another hot number that she won't talk about. "Let it be a surprise," she laughs.

She is happy to perform on Indian Idol stage because it is a talent hunt show. "And I am there as a celebrity performer and not as an 'item' girl," says Isha who likes talent hunt shows because they encourages and nurture budding talent and give them exposure and platform from where the contestants can chalk out their own future.

"It's the best platform one can get," she adds. Isha feels both Karunya and Sandeep are good singers as well as performers. "I like Karunya because he has a solid base in classical singing. And I like Sandeep because he can sing filmi songs quite well. May the best man win," says the actress who refuses to comment on who should be the Indian Idol 2.

"I think it's not fair on my part to say anything on the matter. Let the viewers decide." Talking about her career in Bollywood over three years post-Khallas number, Isha says she had to take the unconventional route because she didn't have any connection with Bollywood. "There are many routes and short-cuts to fame but I chose the 'item' number route," she says. Though after Company she did a role in Ram Gopal Verma's D opposite Chunkey Pandey, she had to struggle a lot to get out of 'item' girl slot.

"Everyone suffers from the typecasting syndrome. It's there and you can't do anything about it. But I struggled to come out of it and succeeded," smiles Isha who is currently doing Don with Shah Rukh Khan and Ram Gopal Verma's Shabri. "I am not allowed to talk about my roles," she says. But the buzz is that in Shabri Isha is playing Mumbai's first woman don. "That's right," she nods. So expect a solid performance. But before that watch her sizzle on Indian Idol finale.

By Televisionpoint.com Team