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 She
learnt to say no before she learnt to say yes. Which
is why, amidst all the collective chaos of her back-to-back
releases, intense focus on her love life and more roles
than ever before on her platter, Bipasha Basu manages
to stay stoic. Almost yogic…
How
do you describe the aura of a sex goddess? Is it the
power to use an opening line like "Main shaadi
shuda hun" (I am married) with the same nonchalance
as she blows soap bubbles onto her lover's face?(Jism).
Is it the ease with which she plays professional seductress
to three irascible males? (No Entry). Or negotiates
ransom money for her husband with her ex-lover? (Apaharan).
Is it the power to tell Ram Gopal Varma, "Let me
think about it," after he has just finished a two-hour
narration of his latest project, as I walk into her
boudoir.
Aglow with the release of Corporate, in which she stands
out, sharper than her business suits, everyone seems
to want a piece of Bipasha (Bips, to most). Her new,
short-haired look for Abbas-Mustan's film has been talked
about, much to her irritation. "It's just a haircut,"
she exclaims. "People get away with nose jobs!"
Directors make a beeline for her, she patiently hears
them out, with no real sense of urgency.
"I have always been emphatic about what I would
do, and what I would not. I have never compromised or
done anything I didn't want to do," she says in
her husky best. "I learnt to say no before I learnt
to say yes."
With just about anybody with a face and a body wearing
their sexuality on their sleeve, and a willingness to
say yes to almost anything, where does the original
sex icon of the noughties fit in?
"Trying to get work by being sexy doesn't really
work. You might get a chance, a foot in the door, but
it won't take you anywhere, nobody really makes a name.
If you see the bigger picture, there are only 10 heroes
and 10 heroines in the industry, no matter how many
people try to get in. It takes a lot more substance
inside the shell to become an actor-to become a personality
that is liked, that becomes a household name. People
have to like you. Most of the new girls have great bodies,
but no face value-it's an entry point, for sure, but
you can't last on the basis of that."
For sure, she is one who has both, face and body value.
You can tell that she has been spending a lot of time
working out. Gold's gym is her second home these days,
and the results are fabulous, to say the least. "Yes,
I know I lost it at some point and went berserk-working
18-19 hours a day and forgetting to look in the mirror.
Finally somebody had to call me fat-and they did, and
I decided to do something about it. I only had to adapt
to healthy
eating and work out. Today, I preach it to everyone.
It's important to look after yourself. I love what's
happening to Bollywood-everyone wants to wear hot clothes,
be sexy, be fit. They are all shaping up. Unfit is not
desirable or visually appealing."
How does she feel about women using their sexual
power to get ahead?
"I think power is best when it is not used. Funny
how women usually have the power to balance or equalize
everything out-in a way that men don't. How they use
their sexuality differs from woman to woman-whether
they want to attain some pluses in what they do, or
get their way with men, or get away with standing in
a line by flashing a smile, and moving ahead. That kind
of sexual power should only be used on your man-but
only at home, not outside. The beauty is when a woman
doesn't have to use it-when she doesn't have to try
much."
Bips obviously doesn't. Almost intuitively, the phone
rings. It's John [Abraham].
She takes a moment to answer her boyfriend's call, enquires
about his day, tells him about hers. It is obviously
a relationship of great tenderness and caring. You can
tell what's working, whatever the rumour mills might
tell you-like their public appearances are a sham, that
his real interest is somewhere else-maybe in the arms
of Mallika (smooch) Sherawat? That something more than
dance brewed at the Rockstar concert in London.
Although I am a hard-core romantic and believe nothing
of it all, except what I just heard and felt-I go on
and ask her the obvious…
Is there anything that she would not tolerate in
her man?
"Fidelity is a given, so I am not going to talk
about it. But what I would not pardon is, especially
because of the kind of industry I am in-when my man
becomes starry-if he flies too high, if he starts thinking
no end of himself-that is the time it's going to be
a question that I am going to post to my relationship.
I cannot see myself with anyone starry. It's hard to
meet people who are truly grounded in our profession-you
see the real side when you are in a relationship. Right
now, John is ok. He is pretty famous and very desirable
and yet not starry.
"But again, it is very important for every woman
that her man is successful. If he isn't, things get
a little jittery. I believe that a man has to be a little
more successful than a woman-it's one of the prerequisites
of a healthy relationship and I am very intelligent
to accept it. I am happier that way. It also balances
a relationship," she says, oozing wisdom.
John Abraham has got his due, and having been a star
when John was a nobody, she would know the importance
of her man's success. "Today the same people who
ignored John come and tell me how lucky I am to have
him in my life!" she says laughingly.
 Is
she jealous at all of his huge oestrogen following?
"Not at all. I feel proud that there are so many
women- good, bad, ugly- that are crazy about him and
yet he is by my side. He has grown in front of my eyes,
and I feel proud. Makes me feel good. He has to be desirable,
because if he is not, he is not doing a good job,"
she adds, with a sense of pride.
Yes, she has the aura of a girl who loves a boy. "It's
like any other relationship, but we are so in the limelight,
there is a lot of focus on it all the time. Sometimes
it's nice to know that people think of us positively,
but then, some negativity also comes out of it."
Maybe the current John-Mallika gossip is a part of this
negativity and maybe there is nothing to it. In any
case, we will soon know.
For
someone who is not known for her histrionics, Bips stole
the thunder from bigwigs like Akshay Kumar and Kareena
Kapoor in her first, Ajnabee (even won the best debut
award). And then followed Raaz, an unconventional blockbuster.
She shook the scene with India's first truly open film
on sexuality, Jism. Of course, there were the eminently
missable ones like Shikhar, Footpath, Madhoshi, Rakht,
Aetbaar and Rudraksh, but in each of them, she held
her own- she didn't jarr. "Ajnabee was a very unconventional
start and I never expected to be praised. But the only
person who was praised in the film was me-they called
me unconventional and yet accepted me. I was amused
because I was made to feel like an alien, though most
Indians had brown skin and large, dark eyes-it didn't
make sense. Today even the fair, light-eyed girls-the
quintessential Bollywood beauties want to be bronzed,
and sound husky," she says with the air of someone
who has obviously had the last laugh.
Incidentally, what was a girl like her doing in a
film like Apaharan, I wonder.
"I just wanted to see if a supposedly fashionable
person like me would fit into the mould, and in my heart,
I knew I would," she says. "It's a strange
thing- it was a tiny, different role, but people loved
it. I guess it is all about styling and thinking-directors
were shocked to see that I could shed all that glamour;
I guess it worked."
The tag of Zeenat Aman is also slowly wearing off…
"They compare too many people to Zeenat Aman. Celina
Jaitley. Diana Hayden. Lara Datta. Even Priyanka Chopra.
But seriously, it felt good to be called Zeenat Aman
initially because she was this amazingly hot woman,
a huge sex symbol with a body she carried off gracefully.
But in terms of acting, I am very different from a Zeenat
Aman. First of all, I am not anglicized, I speak fluent
Hindi, I have experimented with different kinds of roles-so
I think I have tried to be versatile despite my sex
symbol tag-the tag hasn't limited me from say, playing
the slick, hard-nosed executive in a Corporate
or a rustic, abuse-mouthing dancer in Omkara,
or a super-stylish woman in Dhoom-II."
Like her character Nishi in Corporate,
a hard-nosed, ambitious woman who means business, Bipasha
does too, in her own poised way.
"I could totally relate to her. At the end of the
day, like all women who are ambitious and successful
and career minded, she has a soft side. When it comes
to love, she is a sucker. Suddenly, she is not strong.
She is just a girl who wants to be loved, wants to settle
down."
Does she?
"Well, marriage is very important, but there's
still time. I would love to have a marriage like my
parents do-even after so many years, they are romantic
and lovey-dovey. They still surprise each other, and
they haven't let themselves go; they have aged so well.
My mom is still stunning and my father can't do without
her-it's beautiful."
It's been a while since she and John have appeared on
screen together. Aetbaar was the last. "We don't
want to do films together just for the heck of being
together. It has to justify both of us equally-it has
to bring out a new chemistry between us. Space is a
very healthy thing in a relationship. If you get into
each other's hair 24x7, it will never last. Enjoying
separately is also important."
Any relationship can get monotonous according to her.
How intelligent one is to recognize that is what eventually
takes it to another level. "Healthy, positive space
is important when you miss the other person and 'want
to' spend time with him. 'Have to' is a dangerous thing.
When you take things for granted, when you know the
other person is always there-those are signs you watch
out for. If you are smart about it, that is the time
to give space. Your independence and individuality are
the things that made him fall in love with you. If you
lose it, the reason for the other person being in love
with you is lost."
She has everything money can buy, the most recent acquisition
being a Porsche Cayenne, and yet she has an aura of
calm, almost yogic. Is there a spiritual mystery, I
wonder? "It's a normal life, just that the profession
that I am in is glamorous. Else I do everything that
others do-take rickshaws when my driver is not around,
hang around at local joints with or without John. One
smile, one autograph, one picture, cannot harm you.
Bombay is chilled out, people are too busy with themselves."
Back from London after shooting for Abbas Mustan's film,
she has had two big releases, almost back-to-back-Phir
Hera Pheri, and Corporate, and
three more lined up- Omkara, Dhoom-II,
Nehle pe Dehla-all of them multi-starrers.
"I finally know that even if there are 10 stars
in a film, I am not going to be side-lined. And besides,
it's more fun to be remembered in a multi-starrer then
a solo-heroine film."
A bit of talent and a lot of luck is what one needs
to be successful in Bollywood, she feels. "When
people lack luck, they tend to ass-lick. But I am not
here to make friends. I get along with all the actors,
technicians, crew members- I need positive energy around
me, so I get back what I put into a healthy working
environment. But I never get into people's business,
I don't take them back to my house."
Anything she would change about her life?
"Given a chance, I would go back to my PG digs-at
least I won't have to worry about ACs and Aquaguards,
plumbing, electricians and seepage. All I need is a
TV, a bed and a bathroom. Uncle Peter and Cecilia Aunty
who I lived with as a PG pampered me silly. After that,
I shared an apartment with Dipannita for two years-it
was so much fun living like that. The fun is less now.
I live with my dog, Posto."
It is perhaps the most significant year of her life,
and yet, she looks like the temple of calm when she
says she has no expectations."I don't expect anything.
When you start expecting, you tend to get disappointed.
People tell me, 'Why don't you become a sadhu? You are
so okay with everything!' "I was told I would turn
spiritual at 30. I am waiting."
 TOP
OF BIPS' MIND (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Posto [her Chihuahua flatmate]: Posto is a star.
He was a surprise gift for Christmas from John when
I got back from Africa almost two years ago. I was too
scared to hold him, since I have never had a dog. My
mom was a cleanliness freak, so we were never allowed
to have pets. But now, she is the one who pampers him
silly. She is his naani, he lives with her when I am
outdoors.
Relationships: I am a relationship-oriented person.
My relationships have always been important-it is just
that it's too much in focus right now. If it was not
John and maybe a banker, it would still be as important
to me. For me, family, relationships are priorities.
Money: Money is important- I am not here to do
charity. I get accused of being brutal about money and
I say, why not? I have a right to say yes or no, and
even if I make a mistake, it's my choice. Why would
I do a film for two lakhs, just because it is a critically
acclaimed director? Art, commercial, crossover-it's
all the same for me. It's work. But then again, it's
my choice, if I want to do a film free for someone,
I'll do it. I shouldn't be questioned why. The best
thing about my job is that I am the boss!
Fridays: Acting is a job where you get judged
every Friday-you do a small part in a hit film and you
get noticed and applauded-and even if you do your best
role and the film flops, nobody cares-you are pulled
down immediately. It is a brutal industry. All I know
is that if I sink, I have the capacity to come up.
Hits and flops: I should be affected, but I am
not. We waste so much time regretting and feeling bad
for ourselves-it's not worth it. How is the film doing,
why are people not watching it, what is the collection?
I never intended to be an actress and I have never been
overly ambitious-I have always been a very content person-it
never really bothered me. Finally, you will know if
it's a hit or flop, and you can't control it. So I just
do my work, and move on. You must support the film till
the end, but once it's released, think about the next-you
can't help it after that.
Song and dance: I am happy when I have less songs-I
used to dread songs-for me, it was always the time people
took pee-breaks. Bollywood is changing in a very intelligent
way. The whole hero-heroine thing is dying, people are
playing characters, there are more music videos. It
is no longer about "How many songs do I have?"
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