Interestingly, when she was cast for ‘Scoop’, she was working on another series ‘Good Bad Girl’. Even though the directors wanted to rehearse and meet, it was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, unprepared, Ishita found herself on the sets of ‘Scoop’ all of a sudden. Soon the actress was having a lot of fun on the sets.
In the investigative drama ‘Scoop’, Ishita plays the role of Nellie, wife of Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. Though Ishita admits that she is not one of the primary characters, Nelly adds a lot of value to Zeeshan’s (who plays a journalist) life. “She is a moral compass in his life. She is the person who shows him that the way to stand up for one’s colleague is to use a pen properly. Nellie is a professor and her marriage is equal,” Ishita said. Said.
‘Scoop’ is inspired by former crime journalist Jigna Vora’s biographical book ‘Behind the Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’. Jigna Vora’s world comes crashing down when she is accused of the heinous murder of a fellow journalist, Jaideb Sen, and ends up in the prison cell she once reported about. Others accused include a notorious sharpshooter, a nefarious bookie and the infamous Chhota Rajan. Karishma Tanna, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub in ‘Scoop’ Prosenjit Chatterjee, Harman BawejaTannishtha Chatterjee, Deven Bhojani.
Although Ishita was unprepared on the sets of ‘Scoop’, and extremely nervous, her director Hansal Mehta put her at ease. “When I entered the sets on the first day, I was blank. Hansal sir just said, ‘Do it’. I didn’t know what to expect and I was nervous. My third shot was with Karishma and Zeeshan and I mumbled my lines. But Hansal sir comforted me and asked him to go ahead. I realized he gives his actors a lot of space to be themselves,” said Ishita, daughter of the acclaimed singer-actress Ila Arun,
Soon, she was on the sets of ‘Scoop’ joking around with her co-actors. “It felt like a ‘celebration of talent with all accomplished actors’,” said Ishita, who is also an interior design consultant and has hosted live shows.
For Ishita, working with Mehta has been an experience of a lifetime. Praising the director, he said, “Hansal sir is a man of very few words. He doesn’t like to over-direct an actor. He just comes when you really need him, and gives you a brief. He holds your hand for the first five minutes and then trusts your ability as an actor. It is indeed a pleasure working with him.” Shyam Benegal‘s TV project ‘Yatra’, Sonu Nigam’s ‘Bujiria’, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Loye Loye’.
Ishita has over 20 years of experience in theatre, music and television. An accomplished dancer, she has a knack for storytelling, writing and musings.
After ‘Scoop’, Ishita is working on many projects. A lyricist, she is working on 15 songs for her husband, classical and jazz musician, Dhruv Ghanekar. Then, there’s also a grand-scale Broadway musical for Japan that he wrote the songs for. “My plate is full and my cup is over,” she smiled.