Bipasha Basu

Full Name: Bipasha Basu
Nicknames: Bonny, Bips
Birthday: January 7th, 1979
Birthplace: New Delhi, India (raised in Calcutta)
Star Sign: Capricorn
Height: 5' 8"
Education: Bachelor's of Commerce
Languages Spoken: Hindi, Bengali & English
Hobbies: Dancing, reading & helping her mother with interior designing

Relationships: Dated model/actor Dino Morea; currently dating model/actor John Abraham

Endorses: Levis Jeans, Thumbs Up Cola, Panasonic Cell Phones, Clinic All Clear Shampoo (with beau, John Abraham)

Favourite Actors: Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Aishwarya Rai, Kajol, Tabu & Manisha Koirala

Favourite Comic Films: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Angoor, Golmaal, Chupke Chupke, Andaz Apna Apna, Hera Pheri, No Entry, Oscar (english)

Dislikes: People who are irritable, lizards, mosquitoes, insects

This Calcutta based commerce graduate model came into limelight when she won Ford Supermodels Contest. At 17, Bipasha won the famous Ford Supermodel Contest and was flown to New York by the Ford people. Life was exciting! She gushes, “I was spotted by the world famous photographer, Steven Mizhel, and featured in Vogue magazine. I was thrilled and soon had plenty of projects coming my way.” Bipasha could have had the world at her feet and easily gained acclaim as an international model, but she gave it all up for India... to come down and be with the people she loves. “Yeah, I did a lot of ads, but my heart was not in it. I started missing my family because it was the first time I was away from them. So I happily gave it all up and came down to India”, she reminisces.

Hardly had Bipasha landed in India, and she was inundated with offers from all over. Ads, she accepted, but films were the last thing she planned to venture into. She had no plans of joining the film industry but one day, film-maker J. P. Dutta telephoned her with an offer. It was for a ‘perfect’ role in Aakhri Mughal. Bipasha took it up without a murmur. Later, when it was shelved, and Refugee was launched, she refused the role. “Not because it was opposite Sunil Shetty, as rumours go,” informs Bipasha, “but because I didn’t identify with the character. I don’t think I would have looked convincing as a 13 year old!”

This Bengali bombshell was bold enough to accept an unusual role in her debut film, Abbas-Mustan’s Ajnabee, with Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar & Kareena Kapoor. She played a married woman who goes all out to woo her husband’s married friend. About her image of being sexy, she shrugs, “Sexy in India, is not considered positive. But, with today’s crop of fresh faces, in the modelling arena, being sexy is an asset, so let’s hope for the best. I’m often asked if my image has tempted industry men to make a pass at me. The answer is, ‘No’! And, if anyone dares try it, I’ll knock the daylights out of him.”

The light-eyed Bipasha, also the Tulips Miss Super Vivacious in the same contest, said, "I can't believe it. It felt out of the world. I knew I was good, but I am surprised." While she knew she was good enough for the finals, Bipasha found her spirits sagging as her very advantage — her eyes — caught an infection on the morning of the event. "I was very worried. I went to an eye specialist, and I called home and spoke to my mom and dad. I became my mom's baby."

Coaxed into participating for the zonal rounds by a friend, she said, "I cannot boast about my figure because I have not worked on it. My eyes are my strong feature. Whatever I am, it's because of Mehr Jesia. She is my godmother. My mom and dad said, you don't have to win. It doesn't matter. Just do what you want."

She recalls that till the age of 14 she was considered to be a very ugly child and after that she blossomed into a true beauty.

She was a household name much before she entered films. Besides doing innumerable prestigious ads, Bips, as her friends call her, did the famous video ‘Tu...’ for Sonu Nigam’s album, Kismat. Mention of the assignment does not bring a smile to her lips. She explains it with, “Initially I was extremely excited, but when I saw the results, I was very disappointed. It was different from what was narrated to me. Anyway, that was long ago, and doesn’t affect me anymore. I have many new and interesting things to look forward to.”