Exclusive! Ishitta Arun: I was typecast for a long time, thankfully streaming platforms changed the notion

Actress Ishitta Arun, the daughter of veteran actress and folk-pop singer Ila Arun, has said despite having a substantial body of work in theatre, she was initially typecast in films, as she never fit the beauty standard set by the industry. The actress recently appeared in Netflix’s action crime drama series Rana Naidu, starring Rana Daggubati and Venkatesh Daggubati.

When asked why the audience does not get to see her more often on screen, Ishitta told OTTplay, “I think in my initial days, after working for some time for films and TV, I realised how I was getting typecast which, of course, as an artiste, I was not ready to take. Since I come from an artiste family, I channelled my energy toward theatre production and playwriting, etc. Back in the day, I was typecast due to a standard idea of how a girl should look. So, if you are tall, dusky and your voice is husky, they will cast you only in certain kinds of roles. Once, I was also told that I am skinny and do not look Indian enough! Also, I got married and became the mother of two children, so somewhere I also thought that I might not be able to get good roles in films and series.”

Adding to that, the actress said, “However, I want to focus on the good thing that has happened due to the growth of various streaming platforms, where every actor and every talent has a place, and one does not have to come from a film family or strong network. I got my part in Rana Naidu by audition.”

Ishitta started her career as a child artiste with the TV series Yatra, and later acted in films like Kahan Ho Tum, Stop! and The Merchants of Bollywood before she decided to focus more on theatre and songwriting. She also wrote the lyrics of two songs - So Ja Re, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Haiharan, and the title track of Dhaakad, sung by Vasundhara Vee.

So, how does she keep herself motivated? “My mother is the best example I have. When she was in her 40s, she was really doing so much work and I think she enjoyed motherhood and her life as an artiste equally. So, this year I am pushing myself as much as possible to regain myself as an artiste and take on more projects,” she responded. Next, Ishitta will be seen in Hansal Mehta’s upcoming web series for Netflix, titled Scoop.