Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Bipasha Basu was in town to promote her latest film Creature 3D in Bangalore. “I have a new face working opposite me and it is a creature. I wish we could have had the creature at the press conference,” she said with a laugh.
About director Vikram Bhat she said, “He is a forward thinking director who is also technically savvy. He likes taking risks in his films. I have known him from the time we did Raaz together. It was my second film. We have similar mindsets, and our work has been liked by the audience. Hope we create the same magic we have been known for,” she says.
Horror, Bipasha feels, is one genre that not many people have tapped in India. She explains, “People love watching horror worldwide and it is a big business. Someone has to spearhead the change here and luckily, my films are working. Like a few female actresses, I am not playing a supporting role in these films but carrying them on my shoulders and that makes me feel more responsible. There are many reasons why I am doing horror films back to back. Also, whatever works is offered to you again and again. I do have a collection of various horrors films, and some are extremely bad while some are really fun. But I will take a break from horror and do something else,” she says.
She further adds, “With Creature 3D, we want to thrill the audience with something that is not the same age old stale flick. It is something that is going to take us forward. People of every age group will love to watch it. It is not niche cinema but for both the classes and the masses.”
Is she giving herself a chance to measure against something other than the crass standards of the commercial formula? She responds, “I don’t take myself so seriously. There is no goal of being number one or number two because I am not in competition with anyone. I have the love of my audience. Criticism is always going to be part of our business. But when I do a different kind of a film, I am not looking for a reward or somebody to pat my back. I just want people to go to theatres and have fun while my films make money.”
“I want to feel excitement while going to the sets. I should like the film and the people I work with. I have to do something new and can never be part of the herd,” she adds.
About work-life balance, she continues, “Films are not everything to me. There are many people who are so stressed out in the race to be achievers that they lose out on the meaning of life. I live my life every day, I enjoy eating, meeting people, working out and spending time with my friends.”
Bipasha clearly states that she is more than just a siren and believes that her talent has not been tapped. “Opportunities are very limited for a Bollywood actress. Here, I am not talking about myself. Everyone out there is talented. But we always end up supporting people in every film. Yes we make big money, we are big names, and we are fantasies for people and the rest of the world. But the talent is not addressed. I feel our cinema has to still evolve,” says she.
On the personal front, to those who want to see Bipasha settling, her reply is a witty, “What have I done? Some crime?” She adds, “I am very settled. I make a lot of money, I am very independent. I am an entrepreneur and a professional actor. I am great with relationships, whether it is with my family or my boyfriend. I don’t know why I need to be more settled.”
She signs off saying, “Marriage will happen sometime, someday, not now.”
