Diva unplugged

'I don't want to work today. I want to go to Goa!' That was what Bipasha Basu would tell her manager when she started out as an actress in Bollywood, a decade ago. "I was always trying to run from work. I would not take my manager's phone and he would constantly tell me that I should be more responsible," chuckles, Basu as she goes back to the time she started with her first film, 'Ajnabee'.

She thanks Vikram Bhatt, who was taken in by her exceptional charm in the film and offered her the part of woman pursued by evil spirits in 'Raaz', for getting her interested in acting. The film gave her the stamp of commercial acceptability, and it wasn't an uphill task in the industry after that. What stands out in Basu's memory from the 50-plus films that she has done is 'Jism', which she calls as a 'very dynamic change'. "Everyone told me that I was at the top and that I couldn't do a film that was so negative and so sexual! But I always do things I want to do. I hear a script, I love it and I want to do it," she smiles.

She also mentions 'Aakrosh' as one film which tested her acting abilities. "I didn't really like that role of a beaten, bruised woman because in real life I would have punched the man who did that. There was definitely a lot of acting in that film. I remember Paresh Rawal used to be scared beating me up saying, Yeh toh ghooma ke maaregi."

Quickly noted for her acting prowess and magnetic sex-appeal in films like 'No Entry', 'Corporate', 'Dhoom:2', she went on to impress critics and trade analysts alike.

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