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Bipasha Basu shell shocked
You aren't a homemaker if you're a career person?
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 She has entered a fruitful phase in her career. She does comedies (No Entry, Phir Hera Pheri ) with élan, plays a simple, small-town college girl in Apaharan just to challenge the actor within ("With my glamorous image, I thought that it was my responsibility as a good actor to be convincing even in this kind of a role") and does assorted characters that vary from a mentally-disturbed victim of 9/11 (Madhoshi ), a tarot card reader (Rakht ) and an NRI career-woman (Barsaat ).
Yet, Bipasha Basu for whom crime and sin was as rewarding early in her career (Ajnabee, Jism ) as was playing the pativrataa wife (Raaz ), feels that her latest film, Corporate, is extra special. Well, perhaps not in the league that John Abraham is special to her (she has just refuted rumours of their split!) but definitely on par in professional terms!
Over to Bipasha then on her take on Corporate , what she looks for at work, and yes, her rishta with John Abraham.
Why and how much is Corporate special to you?
Corporate is topical, refreshing and all-new, and I hope you like me in it! I have been following Madhur Bhandarkar's work, which made me keen about working with him when he approached me. When I read the script and understood what my role is, I jumped at it. And that's because I think that Madhur presents his women very well. You can identify with his women, who have their own identity as well as problems. Can you imagine, even in 2006, we find regressive films where certain myths are still being propagated.
And what are these myths?
Well, an ambitious career woman is a bad human being. Worse, if she is successful, she's played dirty in all senses to reach the top. A woman who dresses in westernised or glamorous outfits also is supposed to have a bad character! And you cannot be a homemaker if you are a career person, which is atrocious, because today 90% of women are strong enough to balance both professionally the way no man can do, and that too across all economic classes!
You too did this kind of role last year in Barsaat and lost the hero to the other docile heroine, like all such women do!
Yes, that's what I mean. As an actor, I thought that I should try that kind of character too, and people even liked the film, and weirdly enough it was a big hit in UK! Personally, I think that these heroes should be bumped off in such films!
And your Corporate character isn't shown like that?
Yes, Madhur projects his women very positively and cerebrally, so my character in this film actually defies filmi norms! I play a no-nonsense worker in office but a soft, vulnerable and caring wife and mother at home. The crux of my role in Corporate is the contrast that is shown within me when at home and when at work. I am successful, but I am not a b****!
As the only mainstream top star in the cast, what kind of relationships did you have with your co-stars in this film from middle-of-the-road cinema, theatre and television?
Oh, we had a blast! Madhur is an easygoing guy who was very sure of what he wanted, which helped a lot. For example, the first day of the shoot had been reserved for ice-breaking. I was wondering how my realistic cinema-oriented co-stars like Kay Kay Menon, Rajat Kapur and company would be, and whether they would have my sense of fun, and they too were expecting a snooty, brat-like, glamour girl in me! But we broke the myths by realising how far off the mark we were about each other. Our wavelengths were so similar that there was great bonding and I would request Rajat to hang around even if his work was complete, for I would really miss him after pack-up!
You have been having a great innings.
Yes, and I am very happy about the variety of work I am doing. Madhur is generally not enamoured of stars, but he wanted me because my character needed an actor who could look commanding in the face of the strong, male protagonists and yet could be convincing as a vulnerable woman. The time has come when I must explore untapped areas of my talent.
What's with the new look?
Oh, that's only my hair! I keep doing this every now and then because I get bored with the same old look. I have done curls, layers, long lengths, ponytails and also extensions for Dhoom 2 , now it's this. I will be using this look for Asthavinayak Cine Vision's new film with Abbas-Mustan.
If you came to know of a dream project or role, would you approach a producer or director?
No, my PR is zero! I believe in work coming to me because people know I exist.
Will it be always acting for you?
Till it interests me, it'll be acting. I may study filmmaking after 5 years and maybe even try and make a film. Yeah, I am already writing a story.
And why are the real-life pair, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu, refusing to team in reel-life after just three films?
I think that casting becomes more critical if a pair is dating each other off-screen. Aetbaar , Jism and Madhoshi reinvented the chemistry between us - the script of Madhoshi was fabulous - and that is why we looked great together. It is not right to miscast one or more of a couple and then blame the pair for the poor chemistry and the film's failure. Madhoshi faced a crunch in marketing funds which proved its undoing - whoever saw it loved the film! John and I have been lucky. Incidentally, John in Dhoom and I in Ajnabee , shared an unusual kind of victory - though we were in negative roles, the audience was very upset that we were bumped off in the end because we made the characters so likeable!
Incidentally, I was offered Rimii's role in Dhoom , but I did not think that there was any meat in it. Now I am doing Dhoom 2 , and John isn't there!
Is there a self-consciousness that comes while shooting with him?
Not at all. We are professionals. Neither are we insecure when doing romantic sequences with other co-stars. We are in a profession where both of us have just begun to make a mark. John is moving up fast. But I knew him when he was not a star. We met on the sets of Aetbaar , which had taken off before Jism , and I had already split with Dino Morea. He began to flirt with me, but as I always tell people, I saw the persona, the charm, the talent and all the great qualities in John before others saw them, because for them to understand that, he had to become a star first!
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Rajiv Vijayakar
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