AHOY! BEAUTY AHEAD

Bipasha was just 17, 5'8" tall and endowed with sultry good looks.  She won the international Ford Modelling contest in 1986 and was flown to New York by the Ford company.  There a famous photographer Steven Meisal spotted her and featured her on the cover of Vogue.  But Bips wasnt happy in paraya desh and came back to India. She was a top model for a while and featured in many music videos.  At that time she was dating men like Milind Soman and Dino Morea.  She was roped in to play Neeta in Ajnabee (2001) directed by no less than Abbas-Mastaan.  The movie touched on the 'bold' topic of wife swapping but soon turned into a typical Abbas Mastaan murder thriller.  The songs were a hit, so was the movie and Bipasha had a good, if not a perfect debut.  She has said later that she did not like her 'look' in the film, and she was right.  Her get up was strange.  In one scene she sported two ponytails like a schoolgirl.  Everyone noticed the sultry beauty.  Even if she was kind of iffy on the acting and voice modulation, she was accepted as a good heroine material. 

Her next film, Raaz by Vikram Bhatt was better.  It was a supernatural flick, but unlike the usual F grade Ramsay brother movies.  This one was slick and more like a ghost-thriller.  The movie was suprise hit and spawned a number of ghost movies.  In this one Bipasha co-starred with her current squeeze Dino Morea.  Dino Morea was clearly not hero material, but clearly, Biapasha was.  She was getting good projects and was all set to make a name for herself in the filmdom.

She had a special apperence in Aankhen, a song with Akshay Kumar, but that is what played all over the music channels.  Another bit role in the hit movie Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi hai, and it helped her visibility factor.  Her next was again a decorative role in Chor Machaye Shor where she shared screen space with Bobby Deol and Shilpa Shetty.  The movie did not do well.  Gunaah was again a sexy potboiler and flopped badly despite a high oomph factor, here even Dino had some racy sequences.

BODY HEAT

Jism starred her with her current boyfriend John Abraham, though they began dating later, when filming for Aetbaar.  This Pooja Bhatt flick was slick and smart and had a different script.  It did very well on the box office, both John and Bipasha were appreciated.  Bipasha was supposed to seduce John in this movie and with her did a superb job of it too.  She was totally uninhibited and at ease, as was John.  Men were drawn to cinema halls like moths to the flame.

Alas and alack, she was just a windown dressing in Rohit Shetty's Zameen, the screen space was hogged up by Ajay Devgan and Abhishek Bachchan.  The movie was good, but not a big hit.  Her next Ishq Hai Tumse was a nightmare.  This was her third outing with boyfriend Dino who just failed to come alive.  The movie sank underground and was never heard of again.

JOHN AHEAD

Her chemistry with her real life boyfriend was thanda, and cooled down in real life too.  But another supermodel turned actor was right ahead waiting for her.  John was making waves in the film world and Vikram Bhatt's Aitbaar (2004) brought together. Amitabh Bachchan, Bipasha and John starred in this adaptation of Fear and it was movie that demanded a lot from its actors.  Amitabh was already a vetern, Bipasha and John also put in good performances.  The movie was a moderate hit, but importantly, it was a notch up on the acting credentials of Bipasha.

Apart from Aitbaar, the year 2004 was not too kind to Bipasha.  Rudhraksh  and Rakht with Sanjay Dutt were supernatural movies and did not do well at the BO, despite Rakht being directed by Mahesh Manjrekar,  Madhoshi.lkc">Madhoshi starred Bipasha with John Abraham and Priyanshu Chatterjee and looked at mental illness.  Bipasha plays a woman who suffers from delusions and Priyanshu helps her come out of it on strength of his love and support.  Again a no show at the box office. 

ISHQ DI GALI

2005 began with Chehra which was an experimental film starring Dino, Bipasha and Irfaan Khan that flopped.  Sachien was a south-indian movie.  Barsaat with Bobby Deol again, failed to shower any takings at the box office. 

Anees Bazmee came up with No Entry starring Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Fardeen Khan who are bored husbands/ boyfriends trying to stray.  Bipasha plays a bar dancer with a sob story (she has to pay for her husbands treatment, hence she dances).  It was a highly entertaining movie and Bipasha's oomph was back where it belonged, centrestage.  She danced her way to success 'Ishq di gali wich no entry', but the road to stardom was saying 'Full Entry' to Bipasha.

Bipasha hid her sex appeal in simple salwaar kutra and choti and played an ordinary girl in Prakash Jha's Apharan.  Again a feather in the cap of Bipasha who was out to prove that she was willing to do serious cinema.  John Mathan's Shikhar with Ajay Devgan lacked the punch, but continued Bipasha's quest for good cinema.

She supported Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar in the romantic movie, Humko Deewana Kar Gayi (2006). She plays the sacrificing fiancee of Akshay Kumar.  Despite its lavish treatment, the movie was not too fast paced and did badly at the box office.  It did nothing for Bipasha except notch up her filmography.  RGV's Darna Zaroori Hai had a litter of stars and was seen as a timepass.  Again, it did nothing for Bipasha.

Phir Hera Pheri was the much awaited sequel to Hera Pheri.  This time the female lead was Bipasha.  The movie was a super duper hit and brought Bipasha into limelight once again.

2006 also brought Bipasha her best movie to date, Corporate by Madhur Bhandarkar.  Bipasha plays a go-getting high flying exective who is betrayed by her boss.  Bipasha and Kay Kay put in wonderful performances.  It was one of the rare credible movies to come out of Hindi film industry, and Bipasha did perfect justice to her role. 

BIDI BIDI  BURNING BRIGHT

If Corporate was a critical and commercial success, Omkara swept everyone away.  This brilliant adaptation of Othello by Vishal Bhardwaj starred Bipasha in a pivotal role of Billo.  She danced to 'Bidi Jalayi Le' with characteristic Bipasha abandon and the song raced to the top of all 2006 music charts.  The movie was not, again, a big success, but it had a BIG impact.

BIG is what Dhoom 2 was.  Sanjay Gadhvi returned with his successful sequel.  Bipasha got to play a double role here, as a serious inspector Shonali and her fun cousin, Monali.  She got to strut on the beaches of Rio De Janerio in cute bikinis and sent the male pulse racing.  The movie was a top grosser and Bipasha's bad patch was finally over.

2007 has not brought much, just Nehle Pe Dehla which stars Sanjay Dutt, Saif and Bipasha in a comedy.  The movie has not had a good run. But this year, Bipasha was chosen to  host the new 'Seven Wonders of the world' sharing stage with the likes of Ben Kingsley and Hillary Swank in Portugal.  Up ahead is the prestigious project, Shantaram which stars Amitabh Bachchan.  2007 will also bring Dus Kahaniyan which is a combined directorial effort by 10 directors.  The concept is avant garde and is awaited eagerly by viewers.


GOSSSSSIP

Bipasha has been candid about her personal life and the lack of any hush hush there has defeated the gossip mongers.  She dated Milind Soman and Dino Morea before she started dating John Abraham during filming Aetbar.  The couple is going strong despite the attempts by press to discover rifts in their relationship.  The appear together on talk shows and look very much together.  There are rumours that the couple may be engaged. 

Bipasha has a husky voice which she never masked.  It went very well with her dusky looks.  Early on in her career, voice modulation was a problem which she overcome with hard work.  She took up projects like Ajnabee and Jism which no established actress would have been bold enough to take on, and did justice to them.

Like her boyfriend John, she came into films via the modelling world and has worked hard to create a niche for herself, not having any godfather or ready contacts in the industry.


FILMOGRAPHY

•  Shantaram (2008) (pre-production) .... Kavita
•  Dus Kahaniyaan (2007) (post-production)
•  Mr. Fraud (2007) .... In double role
•  Nehlle Pe Dehlla (2007) .... Pooja Sahni
•  Dhoom:2 (2006) .... A.C.P. Sonali Bose/Monali Bose
•  Jaane Hoga Kya (2006) .... Aditi Chopra
•  Omkara (2006) .... Chamanbahar 'Billo'
•  Corporate (2006) .... Nishiganda Dasgupta
•  Alag: He Is Different.... He Is Alone... (2006) .... Special Appearance (Song)
•  Phir Hera Pheri (2006) .... Anuradha
•  Darna Zaroori Hai (2006) .... Varsha
•  Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006) .... Sonia Berry
•  Shikhar (2005) .... Natasha
•  Apaharan (2005) .... Megha Basu
•  No Entry (2005) .... Bobby
•  Barsaat (2005) .... Anna Virwani
•  Sachein (2005) .... Manju
•  Chehraa (2005) .... Megha Joshi/Megha Diwan
•  Madhoshi.lkc">Madhoshi (2004) .... Anupama Kaul
•  Rakht (2004) .... Dhristi
•  Rudraksh (2004) .... Dr. Gayetri
•  Aetbaar (2004) .... Ria Malhotra
•  Ishq Hai Tumse (2004) .... Khusboo
•  Zameen (2003) .... Nandini
•  Footpath (2003) .... Sanjana Srivastav
•  Jism (2003) .... Sonia Khanna
•  Gunaah (2002) .... Inspector Prabha Narayan
•  Chor Machaaye Shor (2002) .... Insp. Ranjita
•  Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002) .... Ria
•  Aankhen (2002) .... Raina (Special Appearance)
•  Raaz (2002) .... Sanjana Dhanraj
•  Takkari Donga (2002) .... Panasa
•  Ajnabee (2001) .... 'Fake' Sonia/Neeta