Bipasha Basu Biography
Bipasha
Basu (born 7 January 1979) is a famous Bollywood actress. She also act
on Tamil, Bengali and Telegu movie. She had a successful modeling
career before joining Indian film. She debuted in a negative
role in Ajnabee (2001) which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best
Female Debut. Her first commercial success was Raaz (2002). She was then
noticed for her bold role in the erotic thriller film, Jism (2003). She
starred in top grossing films like 2005's biggest hit – No Entry, Phir
Hera Pheri (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006) – her biggest commercial success till
date and Race (2008). Her performances
in Apharan (2005), Corporate (2006), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) and
Lamhaa (2010) won her multiple nominations for several awards. She is
frequented in the media as a "sex symbol".
She
has been nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress twice each along with one
nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative
Role. Roles apart, she is also renowned for her item songs like "Phoonk
De" in No Smoking (2007), and "Beedi" and "Namak Ishq Ka" in Omkara
(2006). Basu is slated to make her international film debut with the
2012 Australian film Singularity.
Early life and modeling career
Basu was born in Delhi to a Bengali Hindu family. She is the second of three sisters, the elder one being Bidisha and the younger one, Bijayeta. She lived in Delhi till the age of
eight in Pampoosh Enclave, Nehru Place and studied at Apeejay High
School. Her family then moved to Kolkata where she studied science till
12th standard at Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir. Basu, who
describes herself as a tomboy, was pampered as a kid and was very
naughty. She was fondly called 'Lady Don' in her school as everyone was
scared of her and she was short and round.
Basu
moved to the commerce stream after 10th standard, studying at
Bhawanipur Education Society College in preparation for the 12th
standard board exams. At this time, she began doing ramp shows and
modeling part-time. In 1996, she won both the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel
Contest and the Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest. Basu was
flown to New York by the Ford Company and began her successful modelling
career at the age of 17. She then appeared in the Calida commercial
along with her then-boyfriend Dino Morea which was controversial for
picturising them sultrily. She had some protesters outside her house
after that. She has appeared on over 40 magazine covers.
Film Career
One of the judges
of the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest in which Basu participated,
Vinod Khanna, wanted to launch her alongside his son Akshaye Khanna in
Himalay Putra, but she felt she was too young and declined the role
which eventually went to Anjala Zaveri. After returning
home, she was convinced by another judge, Jaya Bachchan, to play the
role of a village belle opposite her son Abhishek Bachchan in J. P.
Dutta’s Aakhari Mughal. However the film was cancelled, and Dutta
instead changed the script and made Refugee with Kareena Kapoor. Basu
was also offered a role in Refugee opposite Sunil Shetty, which she
declined.
In 2001, Basu
finally made her debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Vijay Galani’s Ajnabee.
The film, directed by Abbas-Mustan, was inspired by the American film
Consenting Adults. It was a moderate box-office success and attracted
unfavorable reviews from critics. However, Basu’s performance in a negative role was appreciated by critics and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
In
2002, Basu starred in the year’s most successful thriller, Raaz.
Directed by Vikram Bhatt, the film established Basu in the Hindi film
industry. Her portrayal of a woman who is pursued by a spirit received
positive reviews. One review in The Tribune noted, "...it is Bipasha
Basu who steals the show with her fine performance." She was nominated
for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Raaz. She then appeared in
supporting roles in Sanjay Gadhvi’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai and David
Dhawan’s Chor Machaaye Shor, both of which failed critically and
commercially. She also appeared in a supporting role opposite Mahesh
Babu and Lisa Ray in the Telugu film, Takkari Donga as a mischievous
thief, Panasa. Gunaah, which released later that year, was also a
box-office failure. She played the role of a cop who loves a convict and
tries to reform him. Derek Elley of Variety observed that Basu was a
miscast as the "idealistic cop"
In 2003,
Basu starred in Pooja Bhatt’s thriller, Jism, which was well received by
critics and fared well at the box office. She essayed the role of
seductive, ambitious wife of a millionaire who indulges in an
extra-marital affair with an alcoholic lawyer and plots
to kill her husband. The film ranked 92 in the top 100 sexiest movie
scenes poll conducted by Channel 4. Film critic Taran Adarsh of
Bollywood Hungama commented, "...the real show stealer is Bipasha Basu ;
her sexy look and seductive deep voice, in contrast with her cold and
calculating personality, makes her the most impressive femme fatale
since Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi." She received a Filmfare Best
Villain Award nomination for Jism. Her next release, Zameen, failed to
make impact among audience.
Basu had four
releases in 2004, all of which performed moderately and drew mixed
reviews. She collaborated for the second time with Vikram Bhatt in her
first release Aetbaar. She played the role of a young girl who falls in love with a psychopath. Rediff.com noted that "...The characters are not convincing, the plot
is not fast-paced or interesting." Her next film was Mani Shankar’s
Rudraksh which was based on the Indian epic Ramayana. The film was a
disaster at the box-office and was panned by the critics. She then
starred in Rakht as a tarot card reader trying to solve a murder
mystery. Critic Shruti Bhasin of Planetbollywood wrote, "Bipasha Basu
impresses in a different look and role." Her final release that year was
Anil Sharma’s Madhoshi opposite John Abraham. Her performance of a mentally unstable girl was generally well received.
In
2007, Ronnie Screwvala’s Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal performed below average
at the box-office. The song picturised on John Abraham and Basu, "Billo
Rani", became quite popular and earned her the nickname "Billo Rani",
though equal credit must be given to Omkara in which her name was Billo
Chanambahar. In 2008, she teamed up once again with Abbas-Mustan for
Race. She played the role of Sonia who is stuck in a love-triangle
between two brothers (played by Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna) and
through the course, she murders one of them. The film grossed 68 crores
at the box office and was the fourth-biggest hit that year in India and
performed good enough overseas as well. Her performance was appreciated
by critics with Taran Adarsh citing it as "her best work so far. She’s
superb". Basu’s work in Siddharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseeno as a
successful supermodel who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for
betraying her earned her a second nomination for Filmfare Best
Supporting Actress Award. She completed 2008 by appearing during the
song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.
Her first release in 2009, Aa Dekhen Zara failed to do well at the box-office. Rohit Shetty’s All The Best:
Fun Begins performed well and her comic role was appreciated by fans.
Later that year, Basu surprised everybody with Rituparno Ghosh’s Bengali
film, Shob Charitro Kalponik. "I love saris and I'm wearing a lot of
them in Ritu's film," she said. She gave up her glamorous look and was
praised by critics for her performance. Critic Subhash K Jha spoke high of her. He said, "...Bipasha pulls out all stops to deliver her career’s best performance.
Her moments of anguish before and after her screen-husband’s death are
expressed in tones of cathartic conviction that we never knew existed
within Bipasha." He also compared her with the multiple award winning
actress, Shabana Azmi, commenting that Basu’s anguished portrayal of
bereavement can be equaled by Azmi only.
With
the 2010 film Pankh, Basu returned with her alluring image as an
imaginary character who exists in the protagonist’s mind. She was then
featured as a Kashmiri girl in Rahul Dholakia’s Lamhaa which explored
socio-political problems in Kashmir. Principal photography of Lamhaa was
disrupted many times by the locals in Kashmir due to the controversial
theme. During the shooting of Lamhaa, she left the sets at Anantnag and
headed back to Mumbai citing she was afraid of the crowd there. Producer
Bunty Walia thought of replacing her with Vidya Balan but she returned
for the shoot later with necessary security arrangements. NDTV Movies
wrote, "Bipasha sinks herself into her character imparting a dramatic
resonance into the role without resorting to stock expressions. The
sequence where she gets mauled by militant women is as traumatic to
watch as it must have been for Bipasha to shoot." Basu then appeared as
the wife of a ruthless cop in Priyadarshan’s Aakrosh who helps the
police with investigation on honor killings in their village. She met
with mixed reviews for the film. Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India
commented, "Bipasha actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be
miscast as the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal."
Her
only release in 2011 was Dum Maaro Dum which performed reasonably well
at the box-office and met with good reviews from critics. Talking of the
film, she said, "My next release is DMD [Dum Maaro Dum], in which I
play a lively, colourful, happy-go-lucky girl called Zoey, who is the
representation of Goa as we see it." Basu collaborated with Abbas-Mustan
for the third time in Players which became the first release of 2012.
The film was an official remake of The Italian Job. Players was heavily
compared to The Italian Job and was criticized for its execution and
performances, including that of Basu. She made her English language
debut with Roland Joffé’s epic drama Singularity which will be premiered
at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012. She plays the role of a
Maratha warrior Taluja Naik in the film. Basu is also signed by Vikram
Bhatt for the third time for Raaz 3D, the third film in the Raaz series.
Principal photography of the film began in January, 2012. She will also
be seen in a guest appearance reprising her role of Race in the
upcoming film by Abbas-Mustan, Race 2.
Personal life
Basu
was in a relationship with her Raaz co-star Dino Morea since 1996 till
they broke up in 2002. Soon afterwards during the filming of Jism, Basu
began to date her co-star John Abraham, and they were in a relationship
till early 2011 when the couple officially broke off. While together,
the two were often referred to as a supercouple in the Indian media.
Basu has been in the limelight since her bold role in Jism. She ranked 8
in Times 50 most desirable Women in 2011 and ranked 13 in 2012. UK
magazine Eastern Eye named her the "Sexiest Woman in Asia" twice in 2005
and 2007.
Basu is an advocate
of physical fitness. Apart from films, she released a fitness DVD
called Love Yourself, which emphasized on being strong, healthy, and
loving one’s self. She was also the brand ambassador of Sugar Free,
which helped her promoting the DVD. Hiren Gada, director of Shemaroo
Entertainment said, "A celebrity like Bipasha Basu, genuinely believes
in staying healthy. She is also passionate about fitness." She had
previously worked on another fitness video called Bollywood Bodies with
John Abraham.
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