Isha Farha - Miss Congeniality

— by Parmita Borah | Bangalore

Isha Farha

She works as an IT professional by day, and moonlights as an actress, dancer, and television presenter – no this isn’t a comic book superhero or a Jekyll and Hyde type scene. Portfolio of Reshma P Abdul Manaf, widely known by her screen name Isha Farha,  as a performing artist is an exhaustive one. She was barely three, when she stepped into the rigorous space of Indian classical dance, and by her teens became an expert in three sub genres – Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam and won many state and zonal level competitions.

“I’ve been asked time and again, and I’ve always had the same answer – dancing takes me closer to God. It’s an inexplicable spiritual high that I achieve through dance.”

Isha Farha (photo - Facebook)

With an impressive combination of talent and charm, Isha soon started bagging advertising gigs, and television shows on Asianet and Doordarshan, the Indian national service broadcaster. Her work in theater, particularly one-act plays got her a few film offers, however her parents were against it as it clashed with her academics.

After finishing college and gaining financial independence as an IT professional, Isha finally forayed into films. The techie turned actress has quite a few projects in her kitty, the most prestigious being ‘Vidhooshakan’, a Malayalam period film which has made its way into many film festivals and R S Vimal's 'Ennu Ninte Moideen'. She has also played lead roles in other regional films like Progress Report and Odissi and donned diverse characters.

“Acting lets me express myself better than I do in real life. Playing different characters is challenging no doubt, but there’s great joy to it”.

In her spare time, Isha teaches dance to underprivileged children and encourages them to pursue their dreams. On juggling between her job at HP and her passion, Reshma says, “My profession makes sure that I get to enjoy my passion and choose my roles without being under any sort of pressure of being ‘out of work’. My day job has given me confidence, independence and equips me well to be professional. It has developed my personality, soft skills and public speaking skills which gives me an upper edge in the movie industry.”

She runs a dance institute called Bharatha Bharathi Institute of Fine Arts.
Isha Farha on Facebook