Twenty-two years ago, Krishna Cottage quietly carved out its place in Indian horror cinema, not through spectacle, but through an unsettling atmosphere that lingered long after the credits rolled. For actor Isha Koppikar, who played one of the film’s most memorable characters, the anniversary is not just about celebrating a cult classic, but revisiting a shoot that she says was far stranger than anything seen on screen. “There are things that happened on that set that I have never quite been able to explain,” she says.
Isha Koppikar recalls eerie moment on sets
One of the most vivid memories Isha recalls is a day she now laughs about, though it felt “very eerie” at the time. “I was still in my vanity van, getting ready for a shot where I had to go and scare my co-stars,” she shares. “But before I could even step out, they were already rattled. When I finally walked in, they asked if I was the one scaring them, and I hadn’t even left the van. Whatever had spooked them, it wasn’t me.” She adds that the incident set the tone for the rest of the shoot. “After that, nobody questioned it when something felt off. We just accepted that something else was there.”
What lingered most for the actor was a constant, unsettling feeling throughout the shoot. “I always felt like someone was watching me,” she says. “My sixth sense was heightened the entire time. Not just during the scary scenes, but especially when the camera stopped rolling and I walked back to my vanity. That’s when it felt the worst, my neck would tingle every single time. It was deeply unnerving.”
Despite the eerie experiences, Isha says she wouldn’t change a thing. “Not about the film, not about the experience. Krishna Cottage gave me something very few films did, it made me feel things I couldn’t rationalise. And that, I think, is what great cinema is supposed to do.”
Isha`s work front
The actress returned to the screens last year with a story on motherhood, titled Rocketship. The film promises to touch souls and tug at heartstrings. This project holds special significance as it represents a beautiful collaboration between established talent and emerging filmmakers, namely the students of Subhash Ghai`s prestigious Whistling Woods International academy. Isha`s decision to participate in this diploma project, stems from her genuine commitment to nurturing young talent and her personal connection to their journey. Having built her own career from scratch without industry connections, she sees herself reflected in these ambitious students who are crafting their dreams from the ground up.
