Bhajji is a very special person in my life - Geeta
She is someone whose smile is something that her fans have been treasuring ever since she exclaimed Dil Diya Hai after having boarded The Train. She is Geeta Basra, an NRI from England who took no time in taking to Bollywood. Even though she is merely two films old, she is already on the wish list of many Bollywood biggies! She has also got featured recently in the globally smash-hit video 'Ghum Sum Ghum Sum' sung by Sukhshinder Shinda and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. We caught up with this actress and came back pretty impressed with her innocence, sincerity and dedication towards her work, which, eventually are the major requisites to make it big in the tinsel town. Over to Geeta...
Geeta,
to
start
with,
not
many
people
know
that
you
are
one
of
the
most
intellectual
actresses
in
Bollywood,
as
you
have
done
your
'A'
level
education
plus
'almost'
a
degree
in
criminal
psychology.
I
always
wanted
to
get
into
the
world
of
showbiz,
and
that's
why
here
I
am,
enjoying
every
moment
of
it.
As
you
said
it,
it
was
an
'almost'
degree
in
criminal
psychology
as
I
thought
that
let
me
first
try
my
hand
in
showbiz
and
then,
if
the
need
be,
carry
on
with
the
academics.
The
best
part
is
that
my
parents
were
quite
supportive
of
my
decision.
I
even
had
braces
on
during
my
'settling
period'
in
Mumbai,
which
got
me
'stuck'
from
doing
any
thing
anyways
(laughs).
Your
debut
film
Dil
Diya
Hai
didn't
quite
work
at
the
box-office.
So,
did
that
failure
affect
your
career
in
anyway?
I
won't
say
it
'affected'
my
film
career
because,
when
the
promos
were
on
air,
it
did
have
a
high
buzz
around
me
and
even
the
'curiosity
quotient'
was
pretty
towering.
Since
I
was
a
newcomer
then,
I
wasn't
aware
as
to
how
much
publicity
and
promotion
meant
for
an
actor,
since
I
was
under
the
impression
that
its
the
producer
who
will
take
care
of
all
this.
Also,
when
my
film
was
getting
released,
we
had
a
mega
monstrous
film
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
which
got
released
simultaneously,
thus
affecting
the
business
of
our
film
in
a
big
way.
I
realised
it
a
bit
later
that
when
you
have
a
film
of
Munnabhai's
caliber,
you
can't
even
think
of
competing
against
it.
Having
said
that,
let
me
also
tell
you
that
I
am
not
a
person
who
will
simply
sit
and
cry
over
spilt
milk.
Irrespective
of
whether
my
debut
film
was
a
hit
or
a
disaster,
I
was
confident
of
the
fact
that
I
was
not
the
first
or
the
last
actress
to
see
a
failure.
Many such emotions and sentiments made me feel that I should work really hard to get there. I took a gap of one and a half years after the release of The Train, but then, that was really something that I wanted to do. In other words, as they say it was a 'conscious effort'. I had many offers after The Train got released. After that, I started questioning myself asking that are these going to make any difference in my career? I waited and waited, and now, finally, the patience is paying off its dividends and how!
Now
the
super
actress
Geeta
Basra
is
back
with
a
big
bang
with
a
Sufi
music
video
with
UK's
sensational
Sukhshinder
Shinda.
Yes,
it
is
true
that
I
have
done
a
Sufi
video
with
him.
But,
I
am
not
going
to
brag
about
the
video,
except
that
I
can
tell
you
that
it's
doing
fantastic
all
over.
Geeta,
considering
the
fact
that
it's
already
the
No.1
on
the
international
charts,
you
have
every
reason
to
brag
about.
(Laughs)
Thank
you
so
much.
I
am
highly
flattered!
How
did
you
bag
this
video?
It's
surely
a
number
that
one
does
not
get
to
see
often
and
it's
also
one
of
the
most
expensive
videos
to
be
picturised
in
recent
times.
The
cost
of
its
making
ranged
around
a
whopping
Rs.
30
lakhs.
Each
of
my
outfit
cost
around
Rs.
2
lakhs.
The
DoP
was
the
renowned
Kabir
Lal.
We
recreated
an
entire
Jaipur-like
palace,
so
much
so
that
one
just
couldn't
differentiate
the
real
palace
from
this
one!
In
other
words,
we
refused
to
compromise
anywhere
in
terms
of
quality.
And
the
song
itself
is
a
unique
one,
as
it's
collaboration
between
Rahat
Fateh
Ali
khan
and
Sukhshinder
Shinda.
The
directors
of
this
video
(Lovel
and
Ajay
Arora)
are
my
good
friends.
Hence,
when
they
heard
the
song,
they
immediately
called
me
and
said,
"Geeta,
we
think
that
we
have
finally
found
the
face
that
we
have
been
looking
for.
And
we
are
sure
that
only
you
can
do
justice
to
the
song".
Wow...sounds
interesting.
Can
you
give
us
some
more
details
about
the
video...
The
song
has
a
certain
feel
of
sadness
to
it,
but,
gradually,
it
gets
translated
into
a
happy
ending.
The
music
video
has
been
directed
by
Colossus
(the
outfit
run
by
Ajay
and
Lovel
Arora),
the
video
is
picturised
on
me
and
the
well-known
model
named
Rahul
Bhatt
(who
played
the
lead
role
in
the
famous
TV
serial
'Heena').
If
you
observe
closely,
you
will
find
that
Rahul
permanently
features
in
all
their
videos,
because
he
is
their
lucky
mascot!
And
trust
me
guys;
this
guy
is
great
on
camera!
As
far
as
the
conceptualization
of
the
music
video
is
concerned,
it's
a
love
story
in
which
I
play
the
lover
who
is
waiting
for
my
loved
one,
who
initially
leaves
me
and
then,
eventually
comes
back.
The
icing
on
the
cake
are
the
two
very
versatile
singers
Rahat
Fateh
Ali
Khan
and
Sukhshinder
Shinda.
While
the
former
is
a
big
name
here,
the
latter
is
a
very
well-known
UK
based
Bhangra
producer
and
artist
and
who
has
worked
on
over
a
whopping
200
albums!
You
have
also
done
an
ad
for
the
world
famous
Gitanjali
jewelers.
Can
you
share
some
more
details
of
the
same?
I
have
been
involved
with
Gitanjali
Jewellery
since
the
time
of
Dil
Diya
Hai,
since
they
were
promoting
the
movie.
And
I
guess
that
they
saw
some
potential
in
me,
so,
they
signed
me
last
year
as
their
Brand
Ambassador.
I
have
recently
shot
an
ad
with
them
for
Laxmi
whereby
we
are
promoting
gold
coins.
The
ad
has
me
welcoming
Goddess
Laxmi
in
our
homes.
I
am
really
very
happy
and
satisfied
with
the
way
the
ad
has
shaped
up,
especially
because,
it
has
shown
me
in
my
Indian
look,
something
that
lots
of
people
have
time
and
again,
compliment
me
with.
News
also
has
it
that
you
have
shot
for
a
vest
ad
with
Sunny
Deol.
Can
you
tell
us
something
more
about
it?
Yeah.
The
brand
you
are
referring
to
is
'Lux
Cozi'.
To
tell
you
the
very
fact,
when
this
ad
was
offered
to
me,
I
was
very
reluctant
initially
because
a
girl
doing
a
vest
ad
was
not
gelling
with
my
system.
But
trust
me;
the
way
the
entire
commercial
has
shaped
up
is
totally
awesome.
Even
though
majority
of
the
superstars
like
Hrithik,
Salman
have
also
been
endorsing
various
brands
of
vests,
what
really
impressed
me
about
this
ad
was
its
mint-fresh
concept.
It
has
me
as
a
quintessential
Punjabi
kudi
in
the
fields
and
I
am
touted
as
the
surprise
element
of
the
ad!
You
also
underwent
a
surgery
last
year.
Hope
all
is
well
now.
What
happened
was
that
I
dropped
a
dumbbell
on
my
foot,
which
resulted
in
the
hemline
ligament
tear
and
bruising
of
my
toe.
I
really
don't
know
how
it
happened,
but
it
just
happened.
Today,
I
simply
shrug
the
incident
by
saying
that
it
was
a
bad
time
of
my
life.
Thanks
to
all
the
prayers
and
good
wishes
of
my
fans,
I
am
feeling
much
better
now.
Any
dream
role
on
your
wish-list?
There
are
two.
One
is
Pakeezah
and
the
second
one
is
Dil
Toh
Pagal
Hai.
I
simply
love
and
ogle
at
these
films
everytime
I
see
them.
I
totally
admire
both
these
films.
What
are
your
upcoming
films?
I
have
signed
two
big
films.
But
due
to
the
recession,
the
films
have
got
postponed.
I
am
a
slightly
superstitious
to
talk
about
these
films
as
they
are
really
very
big
movies.
They
are
the
kind
of
movies
that
I
always
wanted
to
be
a
part
of,
and
are
being
directed
by
people
with
whom
I
always
wanted
to
work
with.
All
that
I
can
say
is
that
while
one
is
a
solo-heroine
project,
the
other
is
two-heroine
project.
Besides
this,
I
just
cannot
reveal
anything
more.
And
yes,
hopefully,
the
next
time
you
interview
me;
it
will
be
on
the
sets
of
my
new
film.
Lastly,
if
you
flip
your
pages
of
Geeta
Basra's
life
a
couple
of
years
back,
how
did
you
react
to
the
(by-now-almost-forgotten)
Bhajji
(Harbhajan
Singh)
episode?
I
know
that
you
were
about
to
ask
me
this
sooner
or
later
(laughs).
To
tell
you
the
fact,
now
that
the
dust
has
settled,
I
just
want
to
leave
it
at
that.
All
that
I
can
say
is
that
Bhajji
is
a
very
special
person
in
my
life
and
a
very
close
friend.
That's
it.
I
really
do
not
want
to
have
a
second
round
of
stories
cropping
up.