She debuted in a negative role in Ajnabee (2001), which
earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her first commercial
success was Raaz (2002). She was then noticed for her bold role in the erotic
thriller film, Jism (2003). She starred in top grossing films like – No Entry
(2005), Phir Hera Pheri, Dhoom 2 (both 2006) – her biggest commercial success
till date and Race (2008). Her performances in Apharan (2005), Corporate (2006)
and Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) won her much praise and multiple nominations for
several awards. She then appeared in commercial successful films such as All
the Best: Fun Begins (2009), Raaz 3 (2012) and also her roles being highly
praised by film critics. Having done so, Bipasha Basu has established herself
as a leading contemporary actress in Bollywood and is a household name. Known
for her bold on-screen image and candid confession of her private life, she is
frequently named in the media as a "sex symbol".
She has been nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best
Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress twice each along
with one nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative
Role. Apart from her film roles, she is renowned for her item songs like
"Phoonk De" in No Smoking (2007), and "Beedi" and
"Namak Ishq Ka" in Omkara (2006) amongst others. Basu made her
international film debut with the 2013 Australian film Singularity.Basu was
born to a Bengali family in Delhi, where she lived till the age of eight in
Pamposh Enclave, Nehru Place and studied at Apeejay High School. Her family
then moved to Kolkata. Basu, who describes herself as a tomboy, was pampered as
a kid and was very naughty. She was fondly called 'Lady Goonda' in her school
as everyone was scared of her short and commanding personality. She has two
sisters.
Bipasha Basu 5 at the IIFA Rocks fashion show
Basu was spotted by model Mehr Jesia Rampal at a hotel in
Kolkata who suggested she take up modelling. In 1996, she won the Godrej
Cinthol Supermodel Contest and the Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest.
Basu was flown to New York by the Ford Company and began her successful
modelling career at the age of 17. She then appeared in the Calida commercial
with her then-boyfriend Dino Morea, which was controversial for picturing them
sultrily. She had some protesters outside her house after that. She has
appeared on over 40 magazine covers.One of the judges of the Godrej Cinthol
Supermodel Contest in which Basu participated, Vinod Khanna, wanted to launch
her alongside his son Akshaye Khanna in Himalay Putra, but she 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 Refugee with Kareena
Kapoor. Basu was also offered a role in Refugee opposite Sunil Shetty, which she
declined.
In 2001, Basu finally made her debut opposite Akshay
Kumar in Vijay Galani's Ajnabee. The film, directed by Abbas-Mustan, was
inspired by the American film Consenting Adults. It was a moderate box-office
success and attracted unfavorable reviews from critics. However, Basu's
performance in a negative role was appreciated by critics and won her the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
In 2002, Basu starred in the year's most successful
thriller, Raaz. Directed by Vikram Bhatt, it established Basu in the Hindi film
industry. Her portrayal of a woman who is pursued by a spirit received positive
reviews. One review in The Tribune noted,
it is Bipasha Basu who steals the show with her fine performance."
She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Raaz. She was
appreciated in a supporting role in Sanjay Gadhvi's Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, a
moderate critical and commercial success. However, in David Dhawan's Chor
Machaaye Shor, was her first commercial failure. She appeared in a supporting
role opposite Mahesh Babu and Lisa Ray in the Telugu film, Takkari Donga.
Gunaah, which released later that year, was also a box-office failure. She
played the role of a cop who loves a convict and tries to reform him. Derek
Elley of Variety observed that Basu was a miscast as the "idealistic
cop".In 2003, Basu starred in Pooja Bhatt's thriller, Jism, which was well
received by critics and fared well at the box office. She essayed the role of
seductive, ambitious wife of a millionaire who indulges in an extramarital
affair with an alcoholic lawyer and plots to kill her husband. The film ranked
92 in the top 100 sexiest movie scenes poll conducted by Channel 4. Film critic
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama commented, the real show stealer is Bipasha
Basu her sexy look and seductive deep voice, in contrast with her cold and
calculating personality, makes her the most impressive femme fatale since
Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi." She received a Filmfare Best Villain Award
nomination for Jism. Her next release, Zameen, failed to make impact among
audiences.
Basu had four releases in 2004, all of which performed
moderately and drew mixed reviews. She collaborated for the second time with
Vikram Bhatt in her first release Aetbaar. She played the role of a young woman
who falls in love with a psychopath. Rediff.com noted that " The
characters are not convincing, the plot is not fast-paced or interesting."
Her next film was Mani Shankar's Rudraksh, based on the Indian epic Ramayana.
The film was a disaster at the box office and was panned by the critics. She
then starred in Rakht as a tarot card reader trying to solve a murder mystery.
Critic Shruti Bhasin of Planetbollywood wrote, "Bipasha Basu impresses in
a different look and role." Her final release that year was Anil Sharma's
Madhoshi opposite John Abraham. Her performance of a mentally unstable woman
was generally well received.
In 2005, she appeared in the love triangle Barsaat
alongside Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra. Taran Adarsh commented, "As an
actor, she [Bipasha Basu] does show sparks only towards the end." She
starred in the Tamil film, Sachein, which was a hit and then in Prakash Jha's
Apaharan, which won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. In this
period, she refused to act in art films due to salary problems.
Besides acting, Basu did the video "Tu" for
Sonu Nigam's album, Kismat. She made a guest appearance in Jay Sean's music video
"Stolen."Basu established herself as a successful actress with the
success of No Entry, Corporate and Dhoom 2. No Entry grossed 750 million at the
box office and was the highest grossing film of 2005. Basu essayed the role of
a bargirl who acts as wife of two men. She earned Filmfare Award for Best
Supporting Actress nomination for the film. 2006 was equally successful for her
with her four major releases — Phir Hera Pheri, Corporate, Omkara and Dhoom 2 —
performing well critically and commercially. Phir Hera Pheri became the ninth
highest grossing film of the year. She was featured opposite Akshay Kumar in a
significant role of a con woman who steals 10 million from the protagonists. In
Madhur Bhandarkar's Corporate, she gave up her glamorous look for the role of a
businesswoman who has no qualms in taking advantage of her sexuality to con the
CEO of a rival company. She won accolades from critics for her performance.
Critic Aparna wrote, she has done a fabulous job as an ambitious woman. The
kind of shrewdness in a woman that she essays has never been seen before in
India films." She was nominated for the second time for Filmfare Best
Actress Award.
In Vishal Bharadwaj's adaptation of Othello, Omkara, Basu
essayed the role of Bianca and was a cameo. She caught the attention of public
with her dance number "Beedi", which was highly popular in India and
overseas. Critic Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote, Bipasha Basu is brought in to
lend oomph and she succeeds in doing just that." Basu became the talk of
the town for donning a bikini in Aditya Chopra's Dhoom 2. She reportedly ate
only oranges for three days and trained hard to shoot the scene. Nikhat Kazmi
of The Times of India commented, "Aah Bipasha! Looks great, brings back
the bikini to Bollywood, and gently slips into the shadows as a pretty
accessory."
In 2007, Ronnie Screwvala's Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
performed below average at the box-office. The song picturised on John Abraham
and Basu, "Billo Rani", became quite popular and earned her the
nickname "Billo Rani", though equal credit must be given to Omkara in
which her name was Billo Chamanbahar. In 2008, she teamed up once again with
Abbas-Mustan for Race. She played the role of Sonia who is stuck in a
love-triangle between two brothers (played by Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna)
and, through the course, she murders one of them. The film grossed 680 million
at the box office and was the fourth-biggest hit that year in India it
performed good enough overseas as well. Her performance was appreciated by critics
with Taran Adarsh citing it as "her best work so far. She's superb".
Basu's work in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno as a successful supermodel
who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for betraying her earned her a second
nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and the film was a
commercial success with it becoming a "Hit". She completed 2008 by
appearing during the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" in Rab Ne Bana
Di Jodi.
Her first release in 2009, Aa Dekhen Zara failed to do
well at the box office. Rohit Shetty's All The Best: Fun Begins performed well
and her comic role was appreciated by fans. Later that year, Basu surprised
everybody with Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film, Shob Charitro Kalponik. "I
love saris and I'm wearing a lot of them in Ritu's film," she said. She
gave up her glamorous look and was praised by critics for her performance.
Critic Subhash K. Jha spoke high of her. He said, "Bipasha pulls out all
stops to deliver her career's best performance. Her moments of anguish before
and after her screen-husband's death are expressed in tones of cathartic
conviction that we never knew existed within Bipasha." He also compared
her with the multiple-award-winning actress, Shabana Azmi, commenting that
Basu's anguished portrayal of bereavement can be equalled by Azmi only. With
the 2010 film Pankh, Basu returned with her alluring image as an imaginary
character who exists in the protagonist’s mind. She was then featured as a
Kashmiri girl in Rahul Dholakia's Lamhaa, which explored socio-political
problems in Kashmir. Principal photography of Lamhaa was disrupted many times
by the locals due to the controversial theme. During the shooting of Lamhaa,
she left the sets at Anantnag and headed back to Mumbai citing she was afraid
of the crowd there. Producer Bunty Walia thought of replacing her with Vidya
Balan, but she returned for the shoot later with necessary security
arrangements. NDTV Movies wrote, "Bipasha sinks herself into her character
imparting a dramatic resonance into the role without resorting to stock
expressions. The sequence where she gets mauled by militant women is as
traumatic to watch as it must have been for Bipasha to shoot." Basu then
appeared as the wife of a ruthless cop in Priyadarshan's Aakrosh who helps the
police with investigation on honour killings in their village. She met with
mixed reviews for the film. Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India commented,
"Bipasha actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be miscast as
the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal.