Happy birthday, Bipasha!

She was voted as the sexiest Asian woman in 2007 by a British weekly.

And somehow, despite churning out fewer hits and more misses, the actress, who entered filmdom in 2001, has managed to constantly hog the limelight in the year that went past, thanks to her oomph factor.

Her share of success in 2008 came with films like Race and Bachna Ae Haseeno. And now, she’s ready to break away from conventional bimbette roles and taking on challenging roles. In Lamhaa, for instance, Bipasha is all set to change the dynamics of physical appearances of a Kashmiri girl.

“When you think of a Kashmiri girl, especially in our movies, what comes to mind is a fair-skinned, light-eyed girl. But I want to disprove that myth. The pre-conceived notions have to be overcome,” says Bipasha. The actress is bent on putting together a convincing act and had even invited a Kashmiri woman to Mumbai in order to study her body language, speech patterns and mannerisms. “I think I’m going to be more keen on getting it right than the director. I’ve never done a film like this before. The role requires me to be someone else altogether. And for this, I needed help. I wanted to play the character the way girls really are today in Kashmir. Very simple,” explains the actress.

Unlike other actors, Bipasha is not very keen to try her luck in Hollywood. “I found out that I will have to start again there, from scratch, like screen tests and other tantrums. They treat you like a newcomer. So I’ve decided to stay in Mumbai and be the ‘queen’ here,” she had said.

And now, she says, “India is a very comfortable place for us because we have already made a niche here. So why would anyone want to go and struggle there? I don’t want to. I have gone through my struggle.”
Bipasha’s future projects include Aa Dekhen Zara (which was earlier called Freeze).