Isha Sharvani (born 29 September 1984 in Gujarat, India) is an Indian dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic and difficult dance performances. She has also starred in some Bollywood films.
Isha is Half Indian, Half Australian She has lived in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Orissa, Vrindavan and Bangalore, before settling down in Thiruvananthapuram. Isha's parents reside at Vellayani Lake near Trivandrum (in the state of Kerala, India). They founded an arts school called Academy for Art Research, Training and Innovation (AARTI) where she lived for 13–14 years. At the age of seven, she began formal learning of dance from her mother and learned Kalaripayattu, Kathak and Chhau dance as well as giving performances in twenty-two countries over last seven years .
According to an interview with India Daily, Isha stated she "lived a different life poles apart from the film industry. For 11 years I have been training eight to 10 hours a day in a very disciplined atmosphere where there is no distinction between boys and girls. I was not supposed to cry over a clipped nail. Beyond stage even my wardrobe has mostly unisexual dresses, jeans and T-shirts".
Isha never gave acting in Bollywood a priority, until she was spotted by Subhash Ghai who required someone with talented dancing skills to perform in his movie Kisna (2005). He offered her a main role in the film opposite Vivek Oberoi . The film did not do well but her dance performances were appreciated. She was also the dancer opposite Hritik Roshan in the Parle Hide & Seek commercial, performing a much appreciated dance duet with Hritik.
Since then she has continued her dance performances on stage, as well as signing for several additional movies which were released in 2006 and 2007. She appeared as a female lead in the Hindi comedy Darwaza Bandh Rakho in 2006. She has mentioned she would be open to acting in Bengali films, provided that the roles are of her interest. And though she has shown that she has tremendous dance skills, still she has not been offered a demanding role which requires her to show her dancing skills in any other movie.
