Isha Talwar (born 22 December 1987) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Hindi films. Talwar started her career as a model, and made her film debut with the Malayalam film Thattathin Marayathu (2012), winning SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Malayalam. She is known for her role in Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde (2013), Bangalore Days (2014), Maine Pyar Kiya (2014) and Article 15 (2019). Talwar is also known for her portrayal in the series Mirzapur (2020-present), Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo (2023) and Indian Police Force (2024).
Early life and background Isha Talwar was born on 22 December 1987 to film director Vinod Talwar and Suman. She was born and brought up in Mumbai, and is a graduate in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Talwar joined choreographer Terence Lewis's dance school in 2004, where she learned various dance forms like ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and salsa and went on to become a tutor in the dance studio. She stated that her choreographer, Terence Lewis, was "one person who changed me completely."
Career Talwar worked as a model and appeared in more than 40 commercials for brands like Pizza Hut, Vivel Fairness Cream, Kaya Skin Clinic, Dulux Paints, and Dhatri Fairness Cream, besides a music video with Hrithik Roshan for the Just Dance competition. She says she spent two years preparing for her film debut. Although she had worked as a child actress in the 2000 Bollywood film Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, her full-length film debut was with the Malayalam film Thattathin Marayathu, for which she took a four-month voice training class, went through a course to learn the language, and learned to play the guitar. The film which saw her play Aisha, a Muslim girl who falls in love with a Hindu boy, became a blockbuster and was listed by Rediff.com in their "Top five Malayalam films of 2012" list. Critics noted that she "looked beautiful", but had "nothing much to do" in the film. In a later interview, she stated that the role of Aisha had given her "a lot of recognition" and that she was "really happy with" her girl next-door image from the film. Her second film I Love Me by B. Unnikrishnan had her playing the female lead alongside Asif Ali and Unni Mukundan. She said that her character in the film Samantha had "shades of grey".
In 2013, she had two releases – her Telugu debut, Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde, which opened to a positive response, and her Tamil debut, Thillu Mullu, a remake of the same-titled 1981 Tamil comedy film which was also a commercial success. In 2014, she was seen in the Malayalam films, Balyakalasakhi, Utsaha Committee, God's Own Country, and Anjali Menon's Bangalore Days. She has shot for an "extended cameo role" in Siddique's Bhaskar the Rascal. She has also been shooting for the Tamil remake of Thattathin Marayathu, reprising her own role. She made her Bollywood debut in the Hindi movie Tubelight alongside Salman Khan. She also appeared alongside Saif Ali Khan in Kaalakaandi. In 2020, she appeared in the Amazon Prime web series Mirzapur. In 2023, she worked on Hotstar web series Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo.
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Talwar was named the Kochi Times Most Desirable Women of 2014. She was placed 2nd in 2013, 6th in 2015 and 8th in 2018.
Filmography
Films Year Film Role Language Notes2000 Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai Preeti's youngest sisterHindiChild artist 2012 Thattathin Marayathu Aysha Rehman Malayalam Debut film in a leading role I Love Me Samantha 2013 Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde Shruti Telugu Thillu Mullu Janani Tamil 2014 Balyakalasakhi Suhra Malayalam Ulsaha Committee Rosemary God's Own Country Asha Bangalore Days Meenakshi Maine Pyar Kiya Shalini Telugu 2015 Bhaskar the Rascal Rani KabeerMalayalam Cameo appearance Two Countries Simran 2016 Raja Cheyyi Vesthe Chaitra Telugu Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai Aysha Tamil 2017 Tubelight Maya Hindi Crossroad Gaya Parameshwaran Malayalam 2018 Kaalakaandi Rakhi Hindi Ranam Seema Malayalam 2019 Article 15 Aditi Ranjan Hindi Roam Rome MeinParul 2020 Kaamyaab IshaGinny Weds Sunny Neha Gulati Cameo appearance 2022 Sharmaji Namkeen Urmi Kaul Theerppu Mythili Ram Kumar Malayalam 2023 Run Baby Run Priyanka Tamil 2024 Shahkot Aisha PunjabiDurgaArchana OdiaEllaElla Hindi 2025Oru Jaathi JaathakamThathri kuttyMalayalam Kaushaljis vs KaushalKiara Meena BansalHindi
Television
Year Series Role Language Notes2010 Rishtey Hindi Episode 46: "Itni Chhoti Baat, Itni Lambi Raat"2011 Just Dance Music video2014 Comedy Stars Celebrity judge Malayalam 2015 D 4 Dance Celebrity guest 2016 Laughing Villa Guest 2017 Comedy Super Night 3 Dancer In the title song2018 Kasthooriman Herself Episode 91, 92, 95, 96 2019 Home Sweet Office Shagun AgarwalHindi Dice Media, Pocket Aces Parchhayee Hameeda ZEE5 originals 2020Swaha FlipkartMirzapurMadhuri Yadav Tripathi/Madhuri Yadav Amazon Prime Video2021Roz RozDancerSony India 2023Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Bijli Disney+ Hotstar 2023Chamak Jazz SonyLIV 2024 Indian Police Force Rashmi Malik Amazon Prime Video 2025 Single Papa Aparna Gehlot Netflix series 2026 Amazon Prime Video seriesVimal KhannaAmrita DasAmazon MX Player series
Awards 2013: Amrita TV Film Award for Best Pair – Thattathin Marayathu 2013: Asiavision Award for New Sensation in Acting – Thattathin Marayathu 2013: Indian Movie Award in Qatar For Best Debutant Actress – Thattathin Marayathu
References
External links