Bipasha Basu is enjoying the current phase in her life. Her Rahul Dholakia film Lamhaa is up for release this week, she's made it to Twitter and her website's about to go live in a few days. Besides, of course, she's in the news for hosting the big Mahi party! “You're right on the first three counts, but not on the last one!” she laughs. “I am not throwing any party for the couple. It's someone's figment of imagination.” Well then, she claims, the excitement in the air is about becoming socially networked online. “When you have a body of work and a ready social platform, you must use it. I now have a forum to talk about health and fitness which is my passion besides my work,” says the actor who promotes Reebok, Real Activ and Sugar Free Gold.
Asked about Lamhaa , which is National Award winner Rahul Dholakia's first in five years after the acclaimed Parzania , Bipasha says it has been a fulfilling and challenging experience. “What got me intrigued about Lamhaa was that it could be about anybody, anywhere. The story is about the stalemate over an issue in our country, but I felt as though it was not just about Kashmir.” Bipasha plays the role of Aziza, a modern-day Kashmiri girl. But she's not had an easy journey through the role with questions being raised about the appropriateness of a dusky actress playing a Kashmiri girl (read fair-skinned). Bipasha smiles and says, “I had my apprehensions before signing up for the role. But Rahul showed me pictures of the kind of woman he had in mind. This was a feisty character trained in hand-to-hand combat. I am not playing a traditional Kashmiri girl. I wear salwar-kameez with PT shoes. I am glad I have been able to do a competent job.”
Her last release Pankh , a sensitive film about gender confusion, was hardly greeted by audiences. Is Bipasha worried about the fate of Lamhaa too? “With Pankh, I was flirting with cinema. Honestly, when I first saw the film, I ran away from the theatre. I am being very objective about it. People don't really want to see a lot of grimness; there is enough of it in everyday life. But that's not to say serious subjects don't work. We have a moody audience. As for Lamhaa , there is a lot of clarity in the promos about what the film is about. I am very content with it. It is a film that needed to be encouraged and hence I was all for it. I especially want the youth to watch it and understand the suffering of the people there,” she says.
Bipsluvurself is not just her Twitter name but also the motto of her life. “From fitness to apparel, I am trying to propagate it, though not in a narcissistic way. I'd like people to realise that they have to bring out the best within,” she explains. She has recently launched a sports line with Reebok on the same theme which is albeit a very limited range. By August-September, the winter collection will also be launched. “I love to be fashionable and have personally liaised with Reebok to bring out this line. Going forward, I'd like to do a fashion line to take the same BB Love Yourself brand forward. I also plan to bring out my next fitness video by December-January but since I make the routine myself and then try and test it, it takes a lot of effort and time.”
While Bipasha gears up for the next shot of Rohan Sippy's Dum Maro Dum , she reveals her second release this year — Aakrosh — about honour killings in Bihar has her playing a local Bihari woman. That will be one to watch out for.
