Bipasha Basu

Bipasha Basu (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian former actress.

Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films.

Basu is the recipient of numerous accolades, including one Filmfare Award.

Particularly known for her work in the thriller and horror film genres and for several item numbers, she is frequently cited in the media as a sex symbol and a scream queen.

Born in Delhi and raised in Kolkata, Basu pursued a successful career as a fashion model.

Bipasha Basu was born on 7 January 1979 to a Bengali family in Delhi.

Her father, Hirak, is a civil engineer, and her mother, Mamta, is a homemaker.

She has one elder sister, Bidisha, and one younger sister, Vijayeta.

According to Basu, her name means "dark deep desire", and is also a river's name.

In Delhi, Basu lived at Pamposh Enclave, Nehru Place until age eight and studied at Apeejay High School.

Her family then moved to Kolkata, where she attended Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir in Bidhannagar.

In her school, Basu was appointed as the head girl and was fondly called 'Lady Goonda' due to her short and commanding personality.

The film was inspired by the American film Consenting Adults (1992).

Ajnabee received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for Basu's performance, and it emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box-office.

Her performance in the film also earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

In 1996, Basu was spotted at a hotel in Kolkata by the model Mehr Jesia Rampal, who suggested she take up modelling.

That year, she participated in and eventually won the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest (organised by Ford), thereby representing India at Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest in Miami.

She later appeared in a Calida commercial with her then-boyfriend Dino Morea, which was controversial for picturing them in a sultry context; she had protesters outside her house as a result.

With appearances on several magazine covers, Basu continued to pursue a career in fashion modeling during her late teens, until she became an actress.

One of the judges of the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest in which Basu participated, Vinod Khanna, wanted to cast her alongside his son Akshaye Khanna in the romance Himalay Putra (1997).

Basu felt she was too young and declined the role, which eventually went to Anjala Zaveri.

After returning home, she was convinced by Jaya Bachchan to star opposite her son Abhishek Bachchan in J. P. Dutta's Aakhari Mughal.

However, the film was cancelled, and Dutta instead changed the script and made the romantic drama Refugee with Kareena Kapoor.

Basu was also offered a role in Refugee opposite Sunil Shetty, which she declined.

Based on the Hollywood film What Lies Beneath (2000), it also starred Dino Morea and debutante Malini Sharma.

Portraying a woman in a failing marriage who discovers that her husband is part of a ghostly conspiracy haunting their new home, the film earned Basu widespread critical acclaim and established her in the Hindi film industry.

One review in The Tribune noted, "...it is Basu who steals the show with her impactful performance."

The film also emerged as a major commercial success at the box office, ranking as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.

Raaz earned Basu her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

She then began receiving offers for film roles, and made her acting debut with the thriller Ajnabee (2001), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

She finally made her acting debut in a negative role opposite Akshay Kumar in Abbas–Mustan's action thriller Ajnabee (2001) which also starred Kapoor and Bobby Deol.

Basu's first leading role was in the horror film Raaz (2002), for which she earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Basu achieved her breakthrough with Vikram Bhatt's supernatural horror thriller Raaz (2002), which was the first instalment of the Raaz film series.

Her career progressed with a leading role in the erotic thriller Jism (2003) and in two consecutive annual top-grossing films, No Entry (2005) and Dhoom 2 (2006).

Basu's other commercially successful films include the drama Corporate (2006), the comedies Phir Hera Pheri (2006) and All the Best: Fun Begins (2009), the thriller Race (2008), and the romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

In the 2010s, she starred in the horror films Raaz 3D (2012), Aatma (2013), Creature 3D (2014) and Alone (2015).

She hosted the horror series Darr Sabko Lagta Hai in 2015.

Following a high-profile relationship with actor John Abraham, Basu married actor Karan Singh Grover in 2016, with whom she has one child.

This was followed by a hiatus during which her sole appearance was in the thriller series Dangerous (2020).

In addition to acting in films, Basu is a fitness enthusiast who has featured in several fitness videos.