At the music launch of Vikram Bhatt's Aetbaar, Amitabh Bachchan who plays Bipasha Basu's
possessive father remarked jokingly, "It was very distressful for me while shooting for this film to see Bipasha go into John's
arms." Looking at Bipasha's sun-tanned arms, which were exposed by a shoulder-less white dress, one felt probably
Bachchan echoed the sentiment of all the men present, who couldn't take off their eyes of the Hindi film industry's
current sex symbol.
Post-press conference we caught a few minutes with Ms Basu.
What's Aetbaar about?
It's about a father and daughter and the bond they share. While the father is very possessive about her, she finds a man played by John who loves her, madly. He's obsessed with her and is naturally someone her father doesn't approve of. But she finds herself being increasingly drawn towards this man, hopelessly much against her father's wishes. It's a story about these two men in her life?
You said on the dais that you are extremely close to your father and while shooting with Mr Bachchan, there were times when you felt you were with your father…
Yes, there were plenty of those little precious moments when Mr Bachchan made me feel I was with my father. I'm really happy to have got this opportunity to work with him.
The film was stalled for some reason. Were you disappointed then?
Yes, of course, as there were many plus points to working in Aetbaar. I was getting to work for the first time with Amitabh Bachchan. Then there was my favourite director Vikram Bhatt and John too with whom this is just my second film. So when the earlier producers left the project, I was disappointed but Tata Infomedia entered the scene and today we have a film on hand.
Was there anything that you were doing for the first time in Aetbaar?
Yes, I was playing a college girl for the first time. Usually, girls play young college girls in their very first film but I got to play such a girl what, now after 10-12 films. I still remember Vikram telling me to behave like a college girl and I told him I didn't know how to do it because after I completed school I began modeling and then films, college was something I did through correspondence and so I really had no clue how a college girl behaved! And of course, after being labeled as this sex symbol and a seductress in Jism, I had to be this very innocent-looking girl in Aetbaar.
Was that tough?
(Laughs) No…I managed to look innocent.
Are you happy the way your career is moving?
Yeah, quite because despite that sex symbol tag I carry, I still manage to get films, which offer me a variety of roles and I even have the luxury of picking the right ones. Within the parameters of Bollywood mainstream cinema I try and do things differently.
Lastly, what's the most important thing you learnt from Mr Bachchan?
That no matter how big a star you are, you need to have your sense of humour intact. We live in times when nerves are easily frayed, tempers can go flying and the working conditions and certain professional hazards can get to you, so in that case it becomes all the more important to retain your funny bone, take everything light-heartedly and keep the working atmosphere as happy and comfortable as possible. I think that's one very important thing he taught me besides many other things.
- Kshama Rao
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More about Aetbaar
- Interview : John Abraham
- Music Launch
- Movie Stills
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