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Bipasha Basu On 20 Years Of Raaz: The Film Made Me Realise I Have A True Potential As An Actor
Bipasha Basu made her acting debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Abbas-Mustan's Ajnabee in 2001 but it was Vikram Bhatt's supernatural horror Raaz which proved to be a turning point in her career. The actress was paired opposite her then-boyfriend Dino Morea in that film.
As Raaz clocks 20 years today (February 1), Bipasha Basu in an interaction with Hindustan Times walked down the memory lane and shared how the success of Raaz helped her to decide that she wanted to pursue acting which was never her long term plan.
Bipasha revealed that she was not the first choice for the role of Sanjana. The film was supposed to star Dino Morea and Lisa Ray in lead roles. However, the latter couldn't be a part of the film for some unknown reasons and that's when the film's co-producer Mukesh Bhatt requested her to step into Lisa's shoes.
The No Entry actress revealed that the makers had earlier approached her for the role of Malini (which was later essayed by Malini Sharma), however she had turned down the offer.
"It (Raaz) was being shot with Lisa Ray and Dino Morea. I had actually gone for the first day of shoot, as Dino was my boyfriend then. It so happened that Lisa couldn't do the film for whatever reasons, and Mukesh (Bhatt, co producer) requested me to play the role. Earlier I had been approached for Malini's character which I had refused. It's strange, I guess that role was meant for me," Bipasha told the tabloid.
The actress said that the success of Raaz made her realise that she wanted to be a part of acting profession.
The daily quoted her as saying, "The success of Raaz is why I decided acting is fun and this is the profession I want to be a part of. It also made me realise I have true potential as an actor. I was very young at that point to portray the role of a woman so deeply in love, like a modern day Savitri. That depth I had not experienced in life also. It was a horror film, yes, but the drama is what attracted me, a lady who gets cheated by her lover, yet goes to any length to protect him." She asserts that she got such a pivotal role at a time when "heroines were only playing love interest."
Besides Bipasha Basu's performance, Raaz is also known for Nadeem Shravan's chartbuster music. Speaking about it, the actress said that she still hears the songs from the film being played at hill stations. The actress recalled how people would sing songs from Raaz for her whenever she would stop at any traffic signal after the film released in theatres.
Bipasha said that Raaz made her a household name and that the film had a golden jubilee run at the box office when multiplexes were not even in the picture.
Helmed by Vikram Bhatt, Raaz revolves around an estranged couple who decide to give their marriage one last chance and plan a holiday in Ooty. However they are unaware that a strange figure is awaiting their arrival.
