Bipasha Basu

“You don't have to do offbeat films to prove that you can act. I have done it but only to prove myself that I can fit convincingly into every kind of films. I want to do the 100 crore film where the hero does all the work, and I get to relax.”

“An unforgettable experience happened on December 15, 1996 when I won the Supermodel contest while still in school. I was just seventeen years old then. Winning that competition was the turning point of my life. That's how I got into modeling and later started acting.”

“Films with female protagonists don't attract many eyeballs. Most of them are perceived as feminist films. If Bollywood starts giving women major roles in entertaining movies, then the audience, too, will open up to the idea of watching commercial films in which the actresses do more than just play the role of the hero's love interest.”

“Any relationship should have love, and if there is no love, it is better to call off a relationship. People say that love happens only once, but I don't believe in it because for me, if one relationship doesn't work, you should move on and seek love in another relationship. Who knows; you might find love in the second relationship.”

“I can't let the baggage of my private life get into work. Artists are more fragile than normal people. But I know that I am a role model for zillions of people, so no matter how deep you are hurting, you need to come out strong.”

“Whenever I get married, it will be a Bengali wedding. If I won't have a Bengali wedding, my mother won't come. She has warned me. So, I am going to have a Bengali wedding for sure.”

“Kissing onscreen is the worst thing in the world. I'm OK with lovemaking scenes, but I hate kissing.”

“My wedding won't be a hush-hush affair. When I get married, everyone will get to know about it... there'll be nothing speculative about my wedding.”

“I have always believed that if you need to take your clothes off to get your man, you've begun to lose the battle. If you pull it off right, you can do it in a very classy way... Being sexy is about suggestion; it's about the tease. It's not about being obvious and forcing yourself out in the open. That takes all the fun out of being a woman.”

“I'm really bad at taking compliments, but whenever I get them, I tell myself, 'Way to go, girl' and move on.”

“For the longest time, Indian women have been okay with being curvy. But I think the modern Indian woman needs to get toned. I don't endorse being thin. Anorexia and bulimia are a reality in India because everybody wants to be thin.”

“I have been called 'Bongshell' the day I stepped into showbiz. So, any adjective coming my way, I take it positively. Sometimes it's also entertaining, but I don't feel bad about it. I'm a proud woman.”

“I'm active even on bad days; it's tough to pin me down. People ask me if I'm a morning or night person. I'm an all-the-time person. I like drinking coffee, but I do it with lots of milk because my energy levels are high even without caffeine. You could call me Obelix, except I don't have a belly.”

“As women, we tend to take the easy way out in showbiz. I have done movies where all I did was look pretty in every frame.”

“You're born single, you die single, but why not being in a relationship is some special 'single' status, I don't understand. Life is less stress being single, I have to admit.”

“I am very proud of my role in 'Singularity.' It pushed me into the territory of period romance. It was a very emotional and challenging role.”

“I know I look good. The regular adjectives that come my way - sexy, hot, dusky, bong bombshell... I love them.”

“I have done some tacky films, but then they were all my decisions, and I'm happy to have made those because they have made me who I am.”

“I do a film if it interests me, has a connect with the audience and some entertainment value. The rest doesn't matter.”

“It was Vikram Bhatt and 'Raaz' that got me interested in the medium of cinema. Before that, I was like any other youngster dabbling with various things - modelling, films - without a definite direction or focus. Now that I'm working with all of them, life has come full circle for me.”