From dancer to corporate boss

Bipasha Basu will soon be seen in two films which are diametrically opposite - Corporate and Phir Hera Pheri.

When I met her for this interview at producer Fewroz Nadiadwala's bungalow one sultry afternoon, the actress confesses.

"Initially I was intimidated by the presence of seasoned actors like Paresh Rawal, Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar on the sets of Phir Hera Pheri and it took me quite some time to come to the level of their understanding.

"What helped me tremendously was the fact that they are easy and comfortable actors and hence it wasn't tough for me to get into the groove."

Con woman

In Phir Hera Pheri, Bipasha plays the role of a dancer named Anuradha.

"My role is actually modelled on the same character, which was essayed by Tabu in Hera Pheri. Anuradha is a con woman who, like the others in the film, is chasing money.

"I have seen Phir Hera Pheri. It's is a sequel to Hera Pheri. In fact Phir Hera Pheri begins where Hera Pheri ends."

Personally Bipasha says that she loves to relax at home and watch a comedy film after a hard day's work on the sets.

"Among my all-time favourite comedy films are Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Andaz Apna Apna.

"Neeraj Vohra, who has directed Phir Hera Pheri, has conceived the story idea for Phir Hera Pheri and given lives to the characters of Baburam, Shyam etc who were part of the original Hera Pheri.

"Having been associated with Hera Pheri, Neeraj knows how each and every character has to behave in the sequel too.

"The USP of the film is the dialogue written by Neeraj who I think is the best in the business today as far as writing for comedy films is concerned.

"Phir Hera Pheri will have repeat value among the viewers."

Actor is an actor

Bipasha feels that an actor is an actor, whether he is doing comedy or action packed film or emotional films.

"If you are great at making people laugh, you are still an actor and not just a comedian.

"I feel Akshay Kumar's sense of humour is getting better by the day since he is blessed with a great sense of humour."

Bipasha plays a career-oriented woman named Nishigandha Dasgupta in Madhur Bhandarkar's Corporate.

"I play the top boss among men who call the shots. There is a soft vulnerable side to her and Nishigandha balances her work and home.

"Corporate, as the name suggests, is about the corporate world. I can only see the way they look. In fact Corporate is completely a contrast when you compare it with Phir Hera Pheri. It is realistic cinema at its best.

"Corporate is a film which every working woman ought to watch. Though earlier Kalyug dwelt a lot on the corporate world, I think this is the first time that a filmmaker is making an attempt to make a film which deals with a woman in the corporate world."

Excited

Bipasha cannot contain her excitement when she sets out to talk about Corporate.

"There are 35 actors from the stage in Corporate. It was quite tough for me to try to act in sync with every one of them.

"My co-actors in Corporate are Kay Kay, Navni Parihar, Sameer Dattani, Minisha Lamba etc.

"I think the days when a solo star used to make a film click are over.

"Today, when every small character is being essayed in every film by a known star, I think, with the exception of Shah Rukh Khan no one can afford to do a solo film."

Multi-starers

Among the films in which Bipasha is acting are Dhoom 2 and Vishal Bharadwaj's Issak besides an untitled film co-starring Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan, with Abbas-Mustan as the directors.

"I have done far too many two-heroine films. No Entry happened because of pressure on me to be a part of a multi-star set-up.

"I realised after working in a multi-star film like No Entry that it is fun to be able to carve a niche of your own by working in a film with ten other co-stars.

"In fact after doing a multi-star film like No Entry I am getting to like it, though I do not have any multi-star film up my sleeve as of now."

An interview with Bipasha Basu isn't complete without a reference to her beau John Abraham. Ask Bipasha about John and she shrugs.

"John isn't a national monument that I should go on talking all the time about him. Let him be in the league of Amitabh Bachchan and then I will talk about him."

Bipasha confesses that for the first time she felt vulnerable in the industry when the media went overboard writing about her in the Amar Singh case.

Bipasha says that she has her own principles.

"You will never see me in any political gathering. I have never campaigned for any political party till date though everyone knows that political parties are ready to give a lot of money to actors, because I do not endorse political parties."