Sexy, serene and unarguably breathtaking are the words that define this Bong babe from B-town. Known for her oomph and cine blitz, this diva catapulted to super stardom soon after she debuted with Akshay Khiladi Kumar in Ajnabee back in the early 2000s. An ordinary girl with an extra ordinary touch to life, Bipasha Basu is known for her generosity and her modesty. While Players was not much of a drive to her career graph, ‘Raaz 3’ has put the spotlight back on this dusky beauty. With a creatively scripted grey character in her upcoming flick, Bips is set to scorch the screen with all her ardor and pizzazz.
Bipasha Basu In Raaz 3 Movie Stills
‘Raaz 3’ is all set for a September 7 release. For more updates on the film, her role and stories beyond, we caught up with this vivaciously sexy glamour girl for a short and crisp chat.
Doing a film with the Bhatts after so many years, how does it feel to be back in the family?
It feels awesome because you are going back and working with the people who really got you into the business. They taught me everything and even more about the business. Getting back with my friend Vikram Bhatt after so long makes me really happy. I am overwhelmed that we could do this film together. Plus, working with Mukeshji and getting to hang around with Bhatt saab (Mahesh Bhatt) was an add on. It has been just an amazing experience.
Your character is the one with grey shades in the film. Was it difficult for you to pull off a villainous role after such a long time post Jism?
Playing the dark is always more fun. As an actor, it is a lot more challenging and it always stirs you up and pushes you a little more in the long run. I think Shanaya is by far the darkest character in Hindi cinema, according to me. I have never seen a woman play such a dark character before. For me, it was a very big challenge when I had to pick it up because I had no benchmark or reference as to how I am going to play my character. I don’t even have 10% similarity with the character. I have been saying this quite often that the moment I went on the sets, I was completely lost.
I was like a vulnerable child; I just told bhatt saab that I have no idea how I am going to sketch the character out of the real me! I don’t know how and when it came about, I started focusing, pushing myself a little more everyday and tried to figure out what is it about actors that is so vulnerable and fragile. I tried to realize what my fears are, as an actor, especially the ones which we don’t even accept to ourselves too. Every actor’s want for permanence is the underlying fear in their lives. The want for the aim and the want to sustain it and not lose it after they get it is what trouble an actor. But they tend to forget the realities of the world that sooner or later, they have to be replaced. That’s what helped me build the character of Shanaya in ‘Raaz 3’! Shanaya is very human but she eventually goes on to use some bad means in Life when her desires turn really evil.
Players didn’t work well at the box office. So what are you expecting from ‘Raaz 3’?
It’s the story of Shanaya and her evil desires. We are making a good film and we have enjoyed the process of making it. This is one film which I was not really ecstatic about. Every time I finished my day’s job, it was not like ‘Oh I am so happy, I have done so well’. It was a different kind of feeling; I was withdrawn, drained, sad and waiting to get over with this film because everyday was a task for me. To be Shanaya was tiring and exhausting; it was like a burden and a baggage. I think I have given a lot of reality to this character. The film has got everything, it is quite an unstoppable film.
Your filmmakers have even gone on records to say that you will either soar high like an eagle or you will sink, post ‘Raaz 3’. Were you little bogged down after such claims?
What they just meant to say is I can stand up for myself and I can assure you one thing, I am not going to sink so easy! Rather than bogging me down, it kind of challenges me more. I love Bhatt saab and I know he loves me a lot. I understand what he meant to say when he made that comment. He knows what I have done in the film, and he feels that I have given the most honest performance of my career till date.
‘Raaz 3’ also brings another refreshing pair of Bipasha and Emraan together. Should the audience be ready to witness firecrackers?
Oh! Explosions! (Laughs out loud). You can see the bombs exploding on the 7th! I guess we are good on screen together; we had some really intense scenes. We were like dynamites exploding on each other. It was quite an insanely nice experience with Emraan Hashmi !
And having a second lead in the film, that too a newbie how were your equations with Esha?
She is wonderful! I had few scenes with her and generally when I meet people on film sets, I don’t talk about films. I like to know what kind of a person he/she is, what they do at home, how many siblings they have and we connected pretty well on that!
What’s keeping you busy post ‘Raaz 3’?
Well, I am working on a film called ‘Aatma’ which is a really interesting film. I have always been wording it out that I am a big fan of Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, the actresses who do wonderful quirky films internationally. Now people are writing roles for women and making these interesting scripts that are not feminist. I am trying to do those kind of films and ‘Aatma’ is one of them. I am also looking out for those little fine jewels which can make you excited as an actor.
