Bipasha Basu (
Bengali: বিপাশা বসু,
Hindi: बिपाषा बासु) (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian film actress who appears in
Bollywood films and a former model. She was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest for 1996 and is currently one of the mainstream actresses in Bollywood.
Early life
Basu was born in
New Delhi, India, to a
Bengali family. She is the second of three daughters to her parents, the elder being Bidisha, and the younger—Vijayeta. Although she was born in New Delhi, her family later moved to
Kolkata.
According to her, she had come into modeling and acting quite by accident, because initially she had planned to study medicine.
Basu studied science till the 12th standard at
Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir and later took up commerce at The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society College, an undergraduate college affiliated with the
University of Calcutta. In Kolkata, she did modelling and rampshows partime. Although, as pointed above, she intended to become a doctor, her aversion for dissections made her opt for
chartered accountancy.
However, in 1996, she met well-known model
Mehr Jessia in Kolkata; the latter suggested that Basu take part in the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest. She eventually participated, and won the contest.
Career
After winning the Ford Godrej Cinthol contest, Basu was flown to New York by the Ford Company, where she had a successful modelling career at the age of 17.
Basu made her film debut in
Abbas Mustan's
Ajnabee, with
Akshay Kumar,
Bobby Deol and
Kareena Kapoor. She played a married woman who goes all out to woo her husband’s married friend, and eventually won the
Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for her performance.
In 2002, Basu starred in
Telugu movie
Takkari Donga opposite
Tollywood superstar
Mahesh Babu and
Vikram Bhatt's thriller
Raaz.
Raaz was a big commercial success and surfaced as the biggest hit of that year.
For her performance in the film, she received her first
Best Actress nomination at the
Filmfare. One review in
The Tribune noted, "...it is Bipasha Basu who steals the show with her fine performance."
She appeared as Sonia Khanna in the 2003 hit movie
Jism alongside
John Abraham. The movie earned her a
Filmfare Best Villain Award nomination.
Besides acting,
Bips, as she is fondly called, did the famous video "Tu" for
Sonu Nigam's album,
Kismat back in her early days before she became an actress. She also made a guest appearance in
Jay Sean's music video
Stolen.
In 2006, she won popular acclaim for her performance in an
Item number during the song
Beedi in the film
Omkara. The song was a national hit, and Basu's picturisation was appreciated.
In 2008 Basu starred in
Race, her second collaboration with duo Abbas Mustan, with whom she debuted in Bollywood. Co-starring
Saif Ali Khan,
Akshaye Khanna,
Anil Kapoor and
Katrina Kaif, the film performed well at the box office, and Basu's performance was appreciated by critics.
Taran Adarsh of
indiaFM described her performance as "her best work so far. She’s superb".
She also received good reviews for her role in
Bachna Ae Haseeno opposite
Ranbir Kapoor. She completed the year by appearing in
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in the song
Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte.
In 2009, Bipasha was rumored to sign onto her first
Hollywood venture
Chaimera alongside
Billy Zane.
Personal life
[
& Bipasha.jpg|thumb|right|Basu with boyfriend [[John Abraham (actor)|John Abraham] at the launch of the
Filmfare]] magazine (2007).
Basu is currently dating actor
John Abraham.
The couple have been together since late 2002 and have been referred to as a
supercouple in the Indian media.
She previously dated fellow Bollywood actor
Dino Morea.
In 2006, Basu claimed to have been harassed by certain organizers of the India Day Parade in
Edison, New Jersey. Basu was initially scheduled to lead the parade on 13 August 2006. Basu eventually appeared on stage late, according to her, because of the harassment. She said, "I wanted to attend the parade, but I could not." She explained that she was harassed physically and mentally in the car by two people who were taking her to the parade.
In 2005 and 2007, UK magazine
Eastern Eye named Basu the "Sexiest Woman in Asia".
Filmography
See also
