At 30, Bipasha Basu looking for serious roles

She came into the limelight with her coffee bean complexion in Ajnabee and was called a scorcher for her skin show in Jism. But Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu, who turns 30 on Wednesday, has now moved on from being just a sex icon and is signing on mature roles.

Voted the Sexiest Asian woman in 2007 by the British weekly newspaper Eastern Eye, the starlet of films like Rudraksh, No Entry, Omkara and Dhoom 2 is taking steps towards signing on for serious roles.

"If I don't like what's being offered, I won't sign anything (any more)," Bipasha had earlier said.

Her stint with arthouse movie started with Prakash Jha's 2005 political drama Apaharan. He presented her in a deglamourised role, but it was Ajay Devgan who had an author-backed role.

Bipasha's first meatier role was in Madhur Bhandarkar's critically acclaimed 2006 film Corporate. She proved her mettle and both critics and audiences applauded her performance. She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress award.

Last year she did Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Shob Charitro Kalponik and is currently doing Sudipto Chattopadhyaya's Pankh and Rahul Dholakia's Lamhaa.

Despite churning out fewer hits and more misses, the actress, who entered filmdom in 2001, constantly hogged the limelight, thanks to her oomph factor.

Her long-awaited share of fame came in 2008 with hits like Race and Bachna Ae Haseeno. She is now breaking from convention and taking on new challenges.

For Lamhaa, Bipasha is all set to change the dynamics of physical appearances of a Kashmiri girl.

"When you think of a Kashmiri girl in our movies, what comes to mind is a fair-skinned, light-eyed girl. But I want to disprove that myth. The pre-conceived notions have to be overcome," said Bipasha.

The actress is bent on looking convincing in the role and had even invited a Kashmiri woman to Mumbai in order to study her body language, speech patterns and mannerisms to get into the character.

"I think I'm going to be more keen on getting it right than the director. I've never done a film like this before. The role requires me to be someone else altogether.

"And for this I needed help. I wanted to play the character the way girls really are today in Kashmir. Very basic," explained the actress, who is dating Bollywood hunk John Abraham.

Unlike other actors, Bipasha is not very keen to try her luck in Hollywood.

"No filmmakers of Hollywood are willing to sign any Bollywood actor without a screen test apart from Aishwarya Rai. They seem to know no Hindi film actors, not even Amitabh Bachchan.

"I found out that I will have to start again (there) from scratch like screen tests and other tantrums. They treat you like a newcomer. So I've decided to stay in Mumbai and be the 'queen' here," she had said.

"India is a very comfortable place for us because we have already made a niche here. So why would anyone want to go and struggle there? I don't want to go and struggle. I have gone through my struggle."

Her other future projects include Aa Dekhen Zara and Freeze.

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Wall-Paper : Bipasa

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Bips don’t lie

Bollywood babe Bipasha Basu was the shining showstopper for Neeta Lulla’s grand finale at the Dubai Fashion Week on Saturday.


She was all aglow in a lovely creation from India’s celebrated couturier to the stars. The collection was a tribute to the immortal love of a woman and Bipasha seemed the right choice, baby!

Sheer grandeur cascaded across the catwalk. Love is the language of the heart, it is innocent, yet ardent, devoted yet wild, submissive yet youthful... so said the designer. And you saw this in the many creations with the colours that symbolise love in full flow. There was burgundy that epitomised the passion of a woman in love, igniting those magical moments, bringing out her sensuality.

Enhancing the subtlety was a rich touch of brown that brought out the depth of the intensity of the realms of the heart. The colour tan portrayed her submission and her complete surrender, while cream symbolised the colour of eternity. Antique gold woven into the flowing pieces of georgette and organza accentuated its every nuance. Post-show, Bips was still glowing, happy to be dressed up in a Neeta Lulla creation. "I’m a complete clothehorse," she said. "Fashion has been part of me, I have been a model, I’m a girl at heart. Any woman would love to dress up, I’m no exception." The first part of the finale featured styles from Walid Atallah from Beirut. And, surprise, surprise, Neeta herself was a showstopper at Jasbir Jamani’s show, part of the emerging talent collection with corsets in full flow.

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