Ishita Arun

Gee,
It's in her genes?

Ishita is no stranger to television. She did her first commercial at three when she appeared in a Vicks commercial

Lissome Ishita Arun, the daughter of folk-diva Ila Arun, makes her music video debut opposite Sonu Nigam in the singer’s Bijuria from his latest pop album Mausam (Magnasound).

Ishita hails from a family that oozes talent. Besides her mother, she has as uncles two of the most creative people in Indian advertising - Piyush and Prasun Pandey. It is no surprise then that Ishita should have chosen a career in films.

19-year-old Ishita is a student of Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College. Prior to to this, she studied in the prestigious Arya Vidya Mandir Girls School in Mumbai. A bright student, Ishita was also good at theatre, elocution, debates, dancing and singing, and has won competitions at the school and inter-school levels.

But Ishita is no stranger to television. Ishita did her first commercial at three when she appeared in a Vicks commercial alongside Jayant Kriplani. This was the famous Gale mein khich khich ad which aired for years after on Doordarshan, then India’s only television channel. Ishita participated in a children’s theatre workshop conducted by Nadira Babbar, at the age of nine, and worked with Gullan Kriplani for a morning series called ‘Science Basics’. Prior to this Ishita appeared in Shyam Benegal’s TV serial Yatra.

Besides amateur theatre, Ishita’s has also starred in a documentary on the life of famous classical singer Alla Jillai Bai, in which she played the great singer in her childhood. Ishita recorded her first two songs at the age of eight, for the very same documentary.

Ishita has trained in Shiamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts and also learnt Kathak. She has performed with her mother’s at shows all over the globe. Ishita is currently learning singing from Ustad Maqbool Hussain.