Martial arts made me more positive: Eesha Koppikar

Remember Priyanka Chopra’s character in Don? Loads of oomph coupled with the fierceness of a wild cat earned her the sobriquet Junglee Billi from Don himself. Eesha Koppikar, the original lady in the Don’s life, had no option but to watch the wild cat take over her beau slowly but steadily. This was in reel life.
Eesha Koppikar

Remember Priyanka Chopra’s character in Don? Loads of oomph coupled with the fierceness of a wild cat earned her the sobriquet Junglee Billi from Don himself. Eesha Koppikar, the original lady in the Don’s life, had no option but to watch the wild cat take over her beau slowly but steadily. This was in reel life.

In real life, however, it seems the title Junglee Billi is more apt for Eesha. Not only does she ooze oomph, she is also a trained basketball player and has just completed her blackbelt in Taekwondo (a form of martial art).

The sexy seductress, in an attempt to keep up the jungle billi image, has also started hosting a wrestling reality show – 100% De Dhana Dhan on Colors. The actress spoke to TellyChakkar at length on her past, present and future. Excerpts from the interview:

Congratulations on getting a Black Belt. It is no mean achievement.
Thank you. It is like a dream come true for me. Since my childhood, I have always loved watching action movies. I used to always visualize myself making all those moves and kicks they show in martial arts movies. Today, I feel, I have finally managed to achieve my dream. But it was not easy! I had to really struggle hard to find time, practice and reach this level in Takewondo which is one of the most difficult martial art forms.

How is this going to help you?
Not sure of how it is going to help me professionally, but on the personal front it has really worked magic for me. It has made me more disciplined and also I have started to look at life in a much more positive manner. On the professional front I feel, my action scenes will become more real in action flicks – a genre I am very fond of!

Is that why you decided to take up 100% De Dhana Dhan?
I love sports and though I have a special liking for martial arts, the passion extends to all kinds of sports. So when the producers called me and gave me the offer, I did not think twice before saying Yes. In this show you will see Indian wrestlers battling it out against their South African counterparts. I hope after this show, wrestling will become more popular in India.

What will your role be in the show?
I will be the anchor of the show. But let me tell you that this is not a commentator’s role. for that, Mohan Kapoor will be taking charge. I will be more of a coordinator and connect the two teams. I will interact with both the teams, discuss the strategy with them and also talk about their performances. Gradually, my role and sphere of influence will increase in the show. I will be playing the natural Eesha Koppikar in the show and not any scripted role that is usually associated with such shows in the West.

Though I must admit, I never saw WWF matches on television before starting to work for this show. Now I am completely hooked to it. 100% De Dhana Dhan mixes reality with fiction and presents wrestling in a manner we will all love to watch. It is the Indian adaptation of the hugely popular Argentenian wrestling show Lucha.

What are the roles of Dara Singh and Sharad Saxena in the show? Aren’t they overlapping with your roles?
I don’t think there is any overlap. Dara Singh is the mentor of the Indian team, while Sharad Saxena is the manager. Their roles are completely technical, while my responsibilities as a host is to connect the teams with the audience and take everyone’s message to the teams.

How was it interacting with the wrestlers?
Oh…it was a great experience. All of them are very young – mostly below 25, though they have huge bodies. They have very simple and clear thoughts and are not into too much of complications. Sando Paaji, Sangram Singh, Anna – all of them were very nice to me and taught me a lot about the game.

Did you learn wrestling as well?
(laughs) Not really! But I am aware of the techniques and all the terms now. I know the difference between a charkha and a brain buster and a choke slam versus a drop kick.

What’s happening on your career front? Any new films?
I am working on some big-ticket releases. Ramgopal Verma’s Shabri should hit the theatres next month. Besides that, I am also working on two Mukta Arts films and going through the scripts of another two. I know I have not been much visible in the film circuit, but I strongly believe that when you want to leap higher, you have to take a couple of steps behind.

On the personal front will you tie the knot with hotelier Timmy Narang soon? There are rumours that it got postponed because of this show.
The dates have not been finalised so your guess is as good as mine! And let me tell you that I will never compromise my personal life for work and mix the two. I am very clear on the demarcation between the two.

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Submitted by SrabantiChakrabarti on Thu, 09/10/2009 - 12:49

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