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Bipasha Basu is hunting for a brother! Bips was recently in Delhi along with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Minissha Lamba and director Siddhartha Anand to promote Bachna Ae Haseeno.

Bipasha seemed in a mood to enjoy herself as she joked and chatted with everyone present. Sounding upbeat about the upcoming film, she said, “Watch it to know what the film is all about.”

During the conversation someone asked the Bong beauty about her plans for Rakshbandhan. Bipasha replied candidly, “We are a family of sisters. So, of course, there are no major plans for Rakshabandhan. But, this year I have a novel idea. I guess I should go out and advertise that I am looking for a brother. I wonder if anyone would come up to me and tell me that he will let me tie a rakhi on his wrist!”

Bollywood’s dusky beauty Bipasha Basu has carved a niche for her in Hindi cinema and says she has no intentions of going to Hollywood because filmmakers there are familiar with only one Indian actor Aishwarya Rai.

“No filmmakers of Hollywood are willing to sign any Bollywood actor without a screen test apart from Aishwarya. They seem to know no Hindi film actors, not even Amitabh Bachchan,” Bipasha said.

“I got a chance to go there, but I found out that I will have start again from scratch like screen tests and other tantrums. They treat you like a newcomer. So I decided to stay in Mumbai and be the ‘queen’ here,” said the actress who was in town to promote Bachna Ae Haseeno.

Talking about the film with newcomer Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha said she signed on because she hadn’t done a romantic movie for quite some time.

“I haven’t done an out-an-out romantic film for a long time so when I heard the script of this film, I found it a little fresh.

“I play Radhika, who comes all the way from Ranchi to Mumbai to become an actor. But she ends up being a member of (choreographer) Shiamak Davar’s dance troupe.”

Bipasha doesn’t seem to mind sharing screen space with two other actresses - Minissha Lamba and Deepika Padukone in the film.

“I am okay with even a 10-minute role provided I get an apt character and my share of attention on screen. Anyway, if you are a Bollywood heroine, you have very limited choice. I was intelligent enough to realise it long back and hence am picking up roles that look good on-screen,” she said.

The India International Jewellery show saw Gili’s new glamorous brand ambassador, actress Bipasha Basu at her charming best. In an industry, where actresses never praise each other, the lady candidly declared that Aishwarya is her favourite actress.

“My favourite actress is Aishwarya”, said the sultry actress, looking bewitching in a set of Gili diamonds, which stood out on a black evening dress and the bangs accentuating her twinkling eyes.

When asked to choose between diamonds and John as her best friend, Bipasha stated that “My best friend is of course John, but my second best friends are diamonds, as diamonds a girl’s best friend.”

As a message for the viewers of Spicezee, Bipasha said, “I wish Happy Independence Day to all.”

When questioned on her continuous use of English in answering questions, the amused Bipasha stated that she would give an exclusive message in Hindi for Spicezee viewers, shortly before Independence Day.

Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu has spoken to the media about her problems with fellow actresses.

Bipasha says, “We should realise that women are transparent creatures and we can’t be friends with anybody. Kareena and I had a problem so many years back that today I don’t even remember what it was. I don’t know Kareena as a person but today I can say openly I don’t have any problems with her. People then created awkwardness and with constant repetition the problem got aggravated but I hold no grudges. She’s a wonderful actress.”

When asked if she has a problem with the new Bollywood Queen Katrina Kaif, Bipasha admits, “Yes there is a problem between Katrina and me. But there could be reasons for that. It could be because of our boyfriends (John Abraham and Salman Khan) but that never affected our work. We didn’t speak during Race but that never stopped us from shooting.”

“I could walk up to Kareena and do that; but no, I can’t do that with Katrina. There is awkwardness between Katrina and me. We don’t talk to each other,” Bipasha said further. “Enough negativity was generated between Kareena and me which created awkwardness. I don’t want people to think that of Deepika and me. She and I didn’t interact much during the shooting of Bachna Ae Haseeno. I got to know her during the music video and promotions. She is very expressive, talented has got a very raw, on screen persona and is a great girl.”

Bollywood starlet Bipasha Basu is known to snub the media every now and then but the latest Bips update indicates that she has started snubbing her B-town colleagues as well! Recently, Bips babe was to requested to appear as a celebrity guest for the finale of a reality show on a private channel. The actress did turn up for the shoot at Film City but when she realised that Shahid Kapur and Vidya Balan would also be featuring on the same episode of that very reality show, Bips couldn’t gulp it and left the venue in a jiffy, refusing to shoot for the episode.

The sultry Bengali beauty walked out despite being assured that she would not be sharing screen space with them as the duo were their promoting their new film, ‘Kismat Konnection’

According to reports, Bipasha had been roped in by one of the sponsors of the show and she had already agreed to feature on it but the presence of Shahid and Vidya was a problem to Bips. The director of the show had clearly told her that her shoot will be done separately but Bipasha didn’t budge and walked out of the sets.

Apparently, Bipasha claimed that since she was under a contract with Yash Raj Films for their film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, she would not be able to accommodate the show.

Bipasha’s refusal to shoot left the channel and the producers in a fix as her promos were already on air. The producers then called up Yash Raj Films to check out the basis of the contract that Bips was talking about and to their surprise they found out that no such contract existed. Hence, Bips was left with no choice but to return to the sets later during the week for the shoot. Because of the utter chaos all the contestants had to be called again.

We wonder, with such a minuscule role in ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, can Bips even afford to have such starry airs?

We reported a while ago that former Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty was to become a producer, and today we can bring you news about her first project. Being made under the banner of Shilpa Shetty Productions, the inaugural movie will see Shilpa herself in the lead role. However, fellow sex siren Bipasha Basu has also been signed for a main lead. This film will be directed by Manish Jha who was responsible for the critically appreciated Anwar. As with all debutante projects, Shilpa will take the assistance of major studios UTV Motion Pictures who have agreed to co-produce the flick. According to a source, “Shilpa wanted to start her production house for some time now. She has already launched her yoga DVDs under her banner.

She was looking for a suitable script when Manish Jha came up with this suggestion of an action comedy. Shilpa loved it so much that she immediately agreed to do it and even asked UTV to co-produce the film. Bipasha Basu will play a major role in the film along with Shilpa. However the role for the leading man is still under consideration.”“The film will be formally announced next month.

Raj Kundra, Shilpa’s beau, will help her out with the production work and her sister, Shamita Shetty, will be involved in the creative aspects of the production house,” the source added further.

Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, who will be seen romancing newcomer Ranbir Kapoor in “Bachna Aye Haseeno”, wants to reconstruct her house here to suit her energy. Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy new land and build an entirely new place rather than break down a beautiful place?

“No no!” she says. “I love the space that I live in and wouldn’t want to leave it for anything in the world. I agree there’s nothing wrong with my home as it is. But when it was being constructed, I couldn’t give it the time and attention I should have.

“I missed the specifications that I had in mind, but never got around to implementing. I need to modify my space to suit my energy,” Bipasha told IANS.

The actress will take a break after completing her current films.

“I’m taking quite some time off to build my home just the way I would want it to be. It would be my birthday gift to myself.”

Bipasha plans to travel to remote corners of the world to get the right colour and quality of wood, tiles, furnishing, upholstery and other accessories for the house.

“While I’m travelling, my parents, who live a stone’s throw away from me, will supervise the construction.”

In fact, the actress will move in with her parents down the road while her home gets re-constructed.

The re-construction of Bipasha’s dream house begins right after the monsoons.

“I know it’s going to be tough to get down to doing something so drastic in my life. But I’m forever adventurous. And I’ve set a deadline - Jan 7 - my birthday for all the construction guys, designers and decorators to finish and move out of my ‘Taj Mahal’. I’ve to set a deadline, otherwise it could go on forever.”
Interestingly, Bipasha’s building Muktangan on Sarojini Road in Khar has a history of demolition and reconstruction. It used to be the location of Rakhee Gulzar’s bungalow. When she sold it and moved out to just two buildings away, she had only one pre-condition - the high rise would continue to be called Muktangan.
When Bipasha moved into the newly constructed Muktangan, she occupied the top floor.

It’s felt by most members of Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein that this film would be John’s turning point as an actor. No stone is being left unturned to make sure John appears in the best light possible in this make-or-break film.In this context it has now been decided to move the prestigious Aashayein forward by a couple of weeks, possibly to July 4 which is the date for Harman Baweja and Imran Khan’s debut films. Says a source, “Aashayein is crucial for both John and his director Nagesh Kukunoor. Both were banking heavily on their last projects. John on No Smoking which turned out to be a no-show and Nagesh on Bombay To Bangkok which was a fiasco. Both the actor and director feel Aashayein would be a new beginning for them.”But for John family always comes first. And now that his brother’s wedding is days away he finds a lot of the attention that he would have ideally given to Aashayein is now being taken up by the wedding in the family.Says a source, “Since Allan’s wife is Romanian the wedding is in Romania. The arrangements therefore become doubly difficult. John’s parents are too old and frail to manage the nitty-gritty.Even Bipasha is shooting in Bangkok. That leaves John to supervise all the wedding plans. And Allan is his only brother. John wants to make it a memorable wedding.”It was therefore felt in the best interests of the film that the original release date June 20, be postponed by at least a couple of weeks.Nagesh Kukunoor’s associate and co-producer Elahi Hiptoola confirms these developments. “Yes, we did feel that we needed a couple of weeks extra, what with John’s brother’s marriage.So yes we’re moving to July, probably the first week. Aashayein is a film that needs careful nurturing. We don’t mind waiting a bit. But we don’t want the release to go wrong.”Interestingly John has no love interest in Aashayein. There’s a new girl Sonal Saigal to begin with. But the female lead is played by Anaitha Nair one of the Chak De India girls. John and she share an unusual equation, quite like Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Sarkar Raj.

The stars accompanying the Bachchans for The Unfogettables tour in July have been finalised. Confirming the list, Sabbas Joseph of Wizcraft, organisers of the tour says, “Preity and Riteish will be at all the venues. Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit and Shahid Kapoor are the guest stars for US, Trinidad, Amsterdam and the UK.”etting the performers wasn’t easy since a couple of stars opted out. “From the outset, Lara and Bipasha were definitely on, along with Riteish and the Bachchans. There’s photographic evidence of them confirming their presence at last year’s IIFA.” When asked for the change of mind, Sabbas says, “Riteish was signed last year. He stood by his deal even though his box-office equity has doubled. A commitment is a commitment.”
Keep your word
He adds, “My question to the people who opted out is: ‘You’ve had the hits and you believe your price is changed. But what about commitment?’ Also, let me remind the ones who are no longer on the tour that we’re showcasing Indian cinema on on an international level. A Bachchan tour takes Indian cinema as far as it can go. According to me, being part of it is a matter of pride.” Sabbas doesn’t think the actresses dropped out due to the Aishwarya factor. “Not at all! Ash and Abhishek are the two actresses’ buddies and would’ve gone out of their way to make them feel at home.No, I think it was the temptation to hike their remuneration.”He adds, “We did contemplate legal action. But finally it seemed a waste of time and energy. If an individual doesn’t want to be part of an event, it doesn’t make sense to force them to perform. No point in having performers who won’t enjoy what they’re doing the audience won’t enjoy it either.”

Bipasha Basu sported a red hot dress with a plunging neckline for the launch of a perfume in the Capital on Wednesday and the star did the catwalk, posed for the shutterbugs and said the promotional lines. Q: You started your career with Ajnabee, which was a multi-starrer. Now, you have done Race which is also a multi-starrer and an Abbas-Mustan film. Do you think that you have come a full circle?

Bipasha Basu: For me, the graph has always been upwards, gradually, slowly, but it’s going up and I am very happy.

Q: Recently you expressed your desire to act in a Malayalam film with superstar Mamootty. Why Mamootty?

Bipasha Basu: well Mamootty is a fine actor. I have seen his body of work. Also, my sister is married to a Malyalee and their family is one of hardcore Malyalam film-watchers and I have heard that Malyalam cinema is definitely by far the finest cinema and is truly high on standards like Bengali cinema, so that’s why I said that if I do a Malyalam film, then I would like to work with Mamootty.

Q: Is there any particular actor that you have not been cast opposite that you would like to work with?

Bipasha Basu: I think before I give up acting — if I ever do that — I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan because I think there is no Bollywood without him. There are many fine actors. I am a true fan of Aamir Khan and I love his work, but I think that if you talk about Bollywood, then you cannot not do a film with Shah Rukh Khan.

Q: Kareena Kapoor recently said in an interview that she loved your role and look in Race and she also thought that she would call you up and congratulate you, so have you too buried the hatchet?

Bipasha Basu: I don’t think there was anything to bury really because there was nothing like hatred between us, but I think sometimes, a lot of complication is caused because of what people say rather than what you say. According to me, it’s really nice of people to compliment me on my work and I am really thankful to Kareena if she has said it and that’s about it. There is nothing like an ongoing war between us.