Catch her before she's gone. As Bipasha Basu shows her inclination towards action roles now, we wonder if we are totally going to lose her glamorous avtaar.
Bollywood's Lara Croft: Will glamour girl Bipasha lose her oomph as she gears up for action oriented roles?
While her latest film Aakrosh is about honour killings where she plays her most fragile character yet, the actress says in real life she is fit enough to beat her boyfriend John Abraham's energy levels. (Text: IANS)
"I want to do action. I think I am too fit at this point in time and that is a zone that I have not tapped fully and in India we don't have too many films where the woman gets to do action. Hopefully, somewhere I see that I will be able to realize something that I want very soon. So I'm just crossing my fingers," Bipasha said. (Text: IANS)
Tagged as 'sexy' and 'glamour girl', Bipasha surprised everyone when she decided to do the issue-based film Lamhaa and flaunt a no make-up look. (Text: IANS)
Always fearless on screen, Bipasha was advised to take on roles that focused on her acting chops by beau John Abraham. John was blown away by her performance in Lamhaa which deals with the turmoil in Kashmir
"John loved me in Lamhaa. He has done a film on terrorism, New York, and he feels we both need to stretch ourselves as actors beyond entertainment," said Bipasha.
According to Bipasha she was enjoyng the novelty of covering up on the big screen: "Sure, I'm very proud of my physique. I've worked hard on it. But now I'm hungering for challenges as an actress. In Lamhaa, I was not only in a burqa throughout, I also got a chance to understand how life is lived in an atmosphere of crisis."
Bipasha's next 2 films also address socially relevant issues. Priyadarshan's Aakrosh deals with honour killings while Rohan Sippy's Dum Maro Dum is about the drug mafia in Goa
In both, Bipasha says she's pulled out all stops to deliver real performances. "Until I finished Lamhaa I didn't notice that the only two films I've signed after that are about burning issues," she said.
"Real doesn't necessarily mean de-glamourised. While in 'Aakrosh' I play a school teacher in a dusty, small town of north India and wear cottons, in Dum Maro Dum, which is about substance abuse, my character Zoyi is very zany, with it and a girl of today. I'm very glamorous in Dum Maro Dum," the actress revealed.
Both the films would again require her to stretch her limits as an actor. Aakrosh, in fact, has been as exhausting for Bipasha as Lamhaa.
"The way Priyadarshan has dealt with the subject of honour killings is remarkable. Again as an actress I was put in a situation I had little knowledge of. I learnt about honour killings and Kashmir on the job. Not that I don't read the newspapers. But reading about these things is one thing, seeing them first-hand is another," she said.
Everyone is talking about the sequence in Lamhaa where Bipasha's character is attacked by hordes of burqa-clad women. (Photo Courtesy: FHM)
"It was very, very humiliating and painful. I had all these women screaming abuses and hitting everywhere on my body until I fell to the ground. Even after director Rahul Dholakia called 'cut', I was on the floor sobbing inconsolably. The director kept recording my trauma..."
In Aakrosh too she has a similar sequence of mob trauma. "At least one could prepare and rehearse in Aakrosh, no such luxuries in Lamhaa. We sometimes literally had seven minutes to shoot in a crowded lane or street of Srinagar and flee before being accosted. That suited me fine because I'm a one-take actor," she said.
Bipasha says she was taken aback by children's lives in Kashmir. "I was shocked by how alienated Kashmiris are from the mainstream of Indian life. Innocent children who have nothing to do with politics referred to India as 'aapka Hindustan' (your India). They actually see Kashmir as an independent state."
"They (children) are not allowed to go out and play. When Sanjay Dutt shot a song in a garden with kids, it was literally a rare treat for them. They had never been to a movie theatre. But the kids had seen some of my movies on pirated DVDs," she said.
Now Bipasha wants to pitch in whatever way she can for Kashmir's kids. "It's easy to talk about helping the distressed sections. But assuming an initiative is very difficult."
John and Bipasha will create awareness about Kashmir's issues in Bollywood. "We can turn a blind eye only if we want to lose Kashmir forever," Bipasha said.
Bipasha Speak: "When I started out, I was called this unconventional, dark, tall and sexy woman, and these were taboo for being a film actor at that point of time. I had to deal with all that. There was also a point six years back when people said - 'Bipasha is fat'. So for me it's been a growth with all these pressures, and yes, I do play very well under pressure." (Photo Courtesy: FHM)
Bipasha Speak: "Brought up by parents who insisted that we should read newspapers! So depressing to start your day with death, killing, rape, corruption, inflation! Damn!" (Bipasha on Twitter)
Bipasha Speak: "I believe in 'love yourself' and you have to be always confident of who you are. That always helps. The pressures will always remain."
Bipasha Speak: "All the jewellery comes to me from John (Abraham). He is my diamond supplier."
Bipasha Speak: "Well the engagement ring comes from the other side. You have to ask this to the other side. I hope it's nice and beautiful; not too big, not too small, just the right size for my finger." (Bipasha on the kind of engagement ring she would like)
Bipasha Speak: "No matter how heroine-oriented my roles are, everyone just sees the glamour. After all that effort, all people see is that I look hot and sexy."
Bipasha Speak: "Kareena might be a star daughter but I am confident I'll be noticed for who I am. Insecurity is a word that doesn't exist in my head."
Bipasha Speak: "These days, it's shocking to see the level of desperation among girls to enter the film industry."
Bipasha Speak: "Sexy in India, is not considered positive. But, with today's crop of fresh faces, in the modeling arena, being sexy is an asset."
Bipasha Speak: "I am doing pretty well for myself, and I am proud to be the person I am. If people write that I am a mean person when it comes to money, then let them write it!"
Bipasha Speak: "Somebody cheated me when I was a young model. I had a bad experience, and was running from court to court. So I understand what a contract is. I sit with my lawyer and chartered accountant before signing a contract. I learned very early in life how one gets cheated. So I am very careful now when it comes to money issues."
Bipasha Speak: "I already have a dream man (John) but if I had to make a choice, I wouldn't mind someone like Brad Pitt! I would like him to have qualities like my father, very chilled-out, because I'm over sensitive and hyper and I want someone who is very calm with a great sense of humor." (Photo Courtesy: Filmfare)
Bipasha Speak: "I am the boss in my life. I decide when to charge more and when not to. I live in my own zone. I don't hurt anyone and I am very transparent. I don't keep people hanging in life."
Bipasha Speak: "I am a simpleton at heart. In my personal life, I don't wear makeup."
Bipasha Speak: "It's good that only girls praise him. That's what used to happen before. Only post Dostana guys used to compliment him more and that was worrying!" (Bipasha on beau John Abraham's popularity as a gay icon)
Bipasha Speak: "My feet look really ugly. That's why I wrap them up in these gladiator shoes all the time." (Bipasha in interview to Hindustan Times)
Bipasha Speak: "I would love to wear Indian ethnic clothes more often. It's just that they are very elaborate and require a lot of patience and effort. That way, western garments are easier to wear. But that doesn't mean I'm not Indian or have to prove my ethnicity." (Bipasha in interview to Hindustan Times)
