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. 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. 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. 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). 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. 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.

Early life and modelling career

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.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.

Acting career

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.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. 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.Basu achieved her breakthrough with Vikram Bhatt's supernatural horror thriller ''Raaz'' (2002), which was the first instalment of the ''Raaz'' film series. 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 next starred in Sanjay Gadhvi's romantic comedy ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'' (2002) alongside Uday Chopra, Jimmy Sheirgill and debutante Tulip Joshi. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's performance, and emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box office. She next starred in Sanjay Gadhvi's romantic comedy ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'' (2002) alongside Uday Chopra, Jimmy Sheirgill and debutante Tulip Joshi. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's performance, and emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box office. Her next film that year, David Dhawan's action comedy ''Chor Machaaye Shor'' alongside Deol, emerged as her first critical and commercial failure. The same year, she made her Telugu film debut with a supporting role in the revisionist western film ''Takkari Donga'' opposite Mahesh Babu and Lisa Ray. Her next film, the thriller ''Gunaah'', again opposite Morea, also emerged as a critical and commercial failure. Her portrayal of a cop who loves a convict and tries to reform him earned her scathing reviews from critics, with Derek Elley of ''Variety'' stating that Basu was miscast as the "idealistic cop".In 2003, Basu starred in Pooja Bhatt's erotic thriller ''Jism'' alongside debutant John Abraham, in which she portrayed the seductive, ambitious wife of a millionaire, who indulges in an extramarital affair with an alcoholic lawyer and plots to kill her husband. She and Abraham began a nine year long relationship while shooting for the film. It received mixed reviews upon release, but Basu earned praise for her portrayal of a femme fatale, with Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' commenting, "...the real show stealer is 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." The film emerged as a sleeper hit at the box-office, with several trade analysts attributing its commercial success to Basu's popularity. ''Jism'' ranked at 92 in a poll conducted by Channel 4 the top 100 sexiest movie scenes. Basu's performance in the film earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. However her next release, Rohit Shetty's directorial debut ''Zameen'' alongside Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan, emerged as a critical and commercial failure.Basu had five releases in 2004, all of which received scathing critical reviews and emerged as commercial disasters at the box office. She began the year with the musical romance ''Ishq Hai Tumse'' in her third collaboration with Morea. She then collaborated for the second time with Vikram Bhatt in her next release, the psychological romantic thriller ''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 fantasy science fiction film ''Rudraksh'', based on the Indian epic ''Ramayana''. She then starred in the supernatural horror film ''Rakht'' as a tarot card reader trying to solve a murder mystery. Shruti Bhasin of ''PlanetBollywood'' wrote, "Basu impresses in a different look and role." Her final release that year was Anil Sharma's psychological thriller ''Madhoshi'' opposite Abraham. Her performance of a mentally unstable woman was generally well received.In 2005, she appeared in the thriller ''Chehraa'' alongside Morea, which was a critical and commercial failure. This was followed by the musical love triangle ''Barsaat'' alongside Deol and Priyanka Chopra, which also received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh commented, "As an actor, she [Basu] does show sparks only towards the end." It also emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. She next starred in the Tamil romantic comedy ''Sachein'', alongside Vijay and Genelia D'Souza, which proved to be a box office hit. She then appeared in Prakash Jha's crime action film ''Apaharan'', alongside Devgn and Nana Patekar, which was a critical and commercial success. During 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 leading actress of Hindi cinema in 2005 and 2006 with the progressive success of the comedy ''No Entry'', the drama ''Corporate'' and the action thriller ''Dhoom 2''. ''No Entry'' grossed at the box office, ranking as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Basu portrayed a bargirl who acts as the wife of two men. The film received positive reviews, and she earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film. 2006 saw her star in four major releases — ''Phir Hera Pheri'', ''Corporate'', ''Omkara'', and ''Dhoom 2'' — all of which performed well critically and commercially. ''Phir Hera Pheri'' saw her star alongside Akshay Kumar to portray a con woman who steals ₹10 million from the protagonists. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews and emerged as a commercial success, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. In Madhur Bhandarkar's ''Corporate'', she gave up her glamorous look to portray a businesswoman who has no qualms in taking advantage of her sexuality to con the CEO of a rival company. Her performance in the film earned her critical acclaim, as well as her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. However, it was only an average grosser at the box-office. Moreover, her performance also earned positive reviews, with critic Rajeev Masand of ''CNN-IBN'' writing, "...Basu is brought in to lend oomph and she highly succeeds in doing that." She followed this with ''Dhoom 2'', where she again starred alongside an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Uday Chopra. She played the dual role of a cop and an NRI. She became the talk of the town for donning a bikini in the film; to prepare for this scene she reportedly ate only oranges for three days and trained hard. The film, and Basu's performance, received positive reviews from critics upon release, with Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commenting, "Aah Bipasha! Looks great, brings back the bikini to Bollywood, and acts well, thus doing more than just slipping into the shadows like a pretty accessory." ''Dhoom 2'' emerged as a major blockbuster at the box office, grossing worldwide, ranking as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year and the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the time. It currently ranks as the highest grosser of Basu's career.In 2007, her only appearance was in Vivek Agnihotri's sports drama ''Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal''. The film saw her perform alongside frequent co-star John Abraham as the physiotherapist of a football team. Despite hype prior to release, it opened to mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and was a commercial failure at the box office. Her dance number "Billo Rani" became quite popular and earned her the nickname "Billo Rani", though equal credit is due to ''Omkara'' in which her name was Billo Chamanbahar.In 2008, she teamed up again with Abbas–Mustan for the crime thriller ''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 who ends up murdering one of them. The film was a commercial success at the box office, grossing worldwide, ranking as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Her performance, like the film, was appreciated by critics with Taran Adarsh citing it as "her best work so far. She's superb!" Basu next starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' as a successful supermodel who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for betraying her. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with widespread praise for Basu's performance. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Basu next starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' as a successful supermodel who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for betraying her. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with widespread praise for Basu's performance. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Her performance in the film earned her a second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She completed 2008 with a special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's romantic comedy ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''.Her first release in 2009, the science fiction thriller ''Aa Dekhen Zara'' opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh, received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. However, her next film, Rohit Shetty's comedy ''All the Best: Fun Begins'' performed moderately well, with her comic role being appreciated by fans. Later that year, Basu took up an unglamorous and challenging role in 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. The film, and her performance, received high praise from critics upon release. Critic Subhash K. Jha spoke high of her, and said, "Basu pulls out all stops to deliver her career 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 Basu." He also compared her with the multiple-award-winning actress, Shabana Azmi, commenting that Basu's anguished portrayal of bereavement could only be equalled by Azmi. She was then featured as a Kashmiri girl alongside Sanjay Dutt, Anupam Kher and Kunal Kapoor in Rahul Dholakia's drama thriller ''Lamhaa'', which explored socio-political problems in Kashmir. Principal photography of ''Lamhaa'' was disrupted many times by the locals due to its 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 considered replacing her with Vidya Balan, but she returned for the shoot later with necessary security arrangements. ''Lamhaa'' opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, but Basu's performance received praise. ''NDTV Movies'' wrote, "Basu 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 Basu to shoot." Basu's next appearance that year was in Priyadarshan's action thriller ''Aakrosh'' as the wife of a ruthless cop who helps the police investigating honor killings in their village. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commented, "Basu actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be miscast as the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal". Basu's next appearance that year was in Priyadarshan's action thriller ''Aakrosh'' as the wife of a ruthless cop who helps the police investigating honor killings in their village. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commented, "Basu actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be miscast as the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal". Both ''Lamhaa'' and ''Aakrosh'' were commercial failures at the box office.Basu's only release in 2011 was the action thriller ''Dum Maaro Dum'', alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Rana Daggubati, which performed reasonably well at the box office and met with mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Talking of the film, she said, "My next release is ''Dum Maaro Dum'', in which I play a lively, colourful, happy-go-lucky girl called Zoey, who is the representation of Goa as we see it." In 2012, Basu collaborated with Abbas–Mustan for the third time in the heist action thriller ''Players'', which became the first Hindi film release of 2012. In 2012, Basu collaborated with Abbas–Mustan for the third time in the heist action thriller ''Players'', which became the first Hindi film release of 2012. The film was an official remake of ''The Italian Job''. Majorly hyped prior to release, ''Players'' was a commercial disaster at the box office, and was negatively compared to the ''The Italian Job'' and highly criticised for its execution and performances, including that of Basu. Her next release was the supernatural horror thriller ''Raaz 3: The Third Dimension'' directed by Vikram Bhatt. Co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta, the film proved a major commercial success at the box office, grossing worldwide. It emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi horror film of all time, in addition to becoming Basu's first commercial success after a period of relatively poor reception. The film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews upon release, with high praise for Basu's performance. Subhash K. Jha of IANS said, "It's Basu who holds together the feverish proceedings. She delivers a full-bodied gutsy performance." Basu starred alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the horror film ''Aatma'' directed by Suparn Verma. The film, and Basu's performance, received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and it was a commercial disaster at the box office. Basu next performed live alongside Atif Aslam, Shaan and Malaika Arora for the first time in a series of concerts in Birmingham and London in the summer of 2013.In 2014, Basu appeared in two films of diametrically opposite genres – the first was Sajid Khan's comedy ''Humshakals'' opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film was a critical and commercial disaster, and is considered one of the worst Bollywood films ever made. Basu didn't even participate in the film's promotions because she was "extremely disturbed by the end result" and stated, "''Humshakals'' was the worst experience of my life". The second was Vikram Bhatt's monster horror film ''Creature 3D'' alongside debutant Imran Abbas. This film was another critical and commercial failure. The same year, Basu finished shooting for her first English film project, Roland Joffé's Belgian romance time travel adventure ''The Lovers'', in which she portrayed a Maratha warrior. The film, and Basu's performance, received mixed reviews from critics upon release. In 2015, Basu featured in Bhushan Patel's romance horror film ''Alone'' opposite her future husband Karan Singh Grover. In 2015, Basu featured in Bhushan Patel's romance horror film ''Alone'' opposite her future husband Karan Singh Grover. The film performed moderately well at the box office, and received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's dual role. ''India TV'' reviewed the film and wrote that, "With some genuine scary moments and Basu-Grover's scorching chemistry, ''Alone'' stands apart from numerous horrible horror flicks made in the past," and also stated, "Basu just takes her act to another level." The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release.

Debut: 2001–02

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 horror 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".

Debut and breakthrough (2001–02)

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.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. 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.Basu achieved her breakthrough with Vikram Bhatt's supernatural horror thriller ''Raaz'' (2002), which was the first instalment of the ''Raaz'' film series. 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 next starred in Sanjay Gadhvi's romantic comedy ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'' (2002) alongside Uday Chopra, Jimmy Sheirgill and debutante Tulip Joshi. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's performance, and emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box office. She next starred in Sanjay Gadhvi's romantic comedy ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'' (2002) alongside Uday Chopra, Jimmy Sheirgill and debutante Tulip Joshi. It opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's performance, and emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box office. Her next film that year, David Dhawan's action comedy ''Chor Machaaye Shor'' alongside Deol, emerged as her first critical and commercial failure. The same year, she made her Telugu film debut with a supporting role in the revisionist western film ''Takkari Donga'' opposite Mahesh Babu and Lisa Ray. Her next film, the thriller ''Gunaah'', again opposite Morea, also emerged as a critical and commercial failure. Her portrayal of a cop who loves a convict and tries to reform him earned her scathing reviews from critics, with Derek Elley of ''Variety'' stating that Basu was miscast as the "idealistic cop".

2003–05

In 2003, Basu starred in Pooja Bhatt's erotic thriller film, ''Jism'' alongside John Abraham, which was well received by critics and fared well at the box office. She played 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".

Commercial setbacks (2003–05)

In 2003, Basu starred in Pooja Bhatt's erotic thriller ''Jism'' alongside debutant John Abraham, in which she portrayed the seductive, ambitious wife of a millionaire, who indulges in an extramarital affair with an alcoholic lawyer and plots to kill her husband. She and Abraham began a nine year long relationship while shooting for the film. It received mixed reviews upon release, but Basu earned praise for her portrayal of a femme fatale, with Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' commenting, "...the real show stealer is 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." The film emerged as a sleeper hit at the box-office, with several trade analysts attributing its commercial success to Basu's popularity. ''Jism'' ranked at 92 in a poll conducted by Channel 4 the top 100 sexiest movie scenes. Basu's performance in the film earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. However her next release, Rohit Shetty's directorial debut ''Zameen'' alongside Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan, emerged as a critical and commercial failure.Basu had five releases in 2004, all of which received scathing critical reviews and emerged as commercial disasters at the box office. She began the year with the musical romance ''Ishq Hai Tumse'' in her third collaboration with Morea. She then collaborated for the second time with Vikram Bhatt in her next release, the psychological romantic thriller ''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 fantasy science fiction film ''Rudraksh'', based on the Indian epic ''Ramayana''. She then starred in the supernatural horror film ''Rakht'' as a tarot card reader trying to solve a murder mystery. Shruti Bhasin of ''PlanetBollywood'' wrote, "Basu impresses in a different look and role." Her final release that year was Anil Sharma's psychological thriller ''Madhoshi'' opposite Abraham. Her performance of a mentally unstable woman was generally well received.In 2005, she appeared in the thriller ''Chehraa'' alongside Morea, which was a critical and commercial failure. This was followed by the musical love triangle ''Barsaat'' alongside Deol and Priyanka Chopra, which also received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh commented, "As an actor, she [Basu] does show sparks only towards the end." It also emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. She next starred in the Tamil romantic comedy ''Sachein'', alongside Vijay and Genelia D'Souza, which proved to be a box office hit. She then appeared in Prakash Jha's crime action film ''Apaharan'', alongside Devgn and Nana Patekar, which was a critical and commercial success. During 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".

2005–09

Basu established herself as a leading actress in 2005 and 2006 with the subsequent 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 played the role of a bargirl who acts as wife of two men. She earned a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film. 2006 saw her star in 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. Her performance received praise from critics and she earned her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the film. 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 the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress; the film also proved to be a commercial success. 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 [Basu] 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.

Success and stardom (2005–09)

Basu established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema in 2005 and 2006 with the progressive success of the comedy ''No Entry'', the drama ''Corporate'' and the action thriller ''Dhoom 2''. ''No Entry'' grossed at the box office, ranking as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Basu portrayed a bargirl who acts as the wife of two men. The film received positive reviews, and she earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film. 2006 saw her star in four major releases — ''Phir Hera Pheri'', ''Corporate'', ''Omkara'', and ''Dhoom 2'' — all of which performed well critically and commercially. ''Phir Hera Pheri'' saw her star alongside Akshay Kumar to portray a con woman who steals ₹10 million from the protagonists. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews and emerged as a commercial success, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. In Madhur Bhandarkar's ''Corporate'', she gave up her glamorous look to portray a businesswoman who has no qualms in taking advantage of her sexuality to con the CEO of a rival company. Her performance in the film earned her critical acclaim, as well as her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. However, it was only an average grosser at the box-office. Moreover, her performance also earned positive reviews, with critic Rajeev Masand of ''CNN-IBN'' writing, "...Basu is brought in to lend oomph and she highly succeeds in doing that." She followed this with ''Dhoom 2'', where she again starred alongside an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Uday Chopra. She played the dual role of a cop and an NRI. She became the talk of the town for donning a bikini in the film; to prepare for this scene she reportedly ate only oranges for three days and trained hard. The film, and Basu's performance, received positive reviews from critics upon release, with Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commenting, "Aah Bipasha! Looks great, brings back the bikini to Bollywood, and acts well, thus doing more than just slipping into the shadows like a pretty accessory." ''Dhoom 2'' emerged as a major blockbuster at the box office, grossing worldwide, ranking as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year and the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the time. It currently ranks as the highest grosser of Basu's career.In 2007, her only appearance was in Vivek Agnihotri's sports drama ''Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal''. The film saw her perform alongside frequent co-star John Abraham as the physiotherapist of a football team. Despite hype prior to release, it opened to mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and was a commercial failure at the box office. Her dance number "Billo Rani" became quite popular and earned her the nickname "Billo Rani", though equal credit is due to ''Omkara'' in which her name was Billo Chamanbahar.In 2008, she teamed up again with Abbas–Mustan for the crime thriller ''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 who ends up murdering one of them. The film was a commercial success at the box office, grossing worldwide, ranking as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Her performance, like the film, was appreciated by critics with Taran Adarsh citing it as "her best work so far. She's superb!" Basu next starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' as a successful supermodel who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for betraying her. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with widespread praise for Basu's performance. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Basu next starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' as a successful supermodel who finds it hard to forgive her ex-lover for betraying her. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with widespread praise for Basu's performance. It emerged as a commercial success at the box office, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. Her performance in the film earned her a second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She completed 2008 with a special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's romantic comedy ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''.Her first release in 2009, the science fiction thriller ''Aa Dekhen Zara'' opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh, received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. However, her next film, Rohit Shetty's comedy ''All the Best: Fun Begins'' performed moderately well, with her comic role being appreciated by fans. Later that year, Basu took up an unglamorous and challenging role in 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. The film, and her performance, received high praise from critics upon release. Critic Subhash K. Jha spoke high of her, and said, "Basu pulls out all stops to deliver her career 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 Basu." He also compared her with the multiple-award-winning actress, Shabana Azmi, commenting that Basu's anguished portrayal of bereavement could only be equalled by Azmi.

Recent work: 2010–present

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 honor killings in their village. She met with mixed reviews for the film. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The 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".Her only release in 2011 was ''Dum Maaro Dum'', which performed reasonably well at the box office and met with good reviews from critics. Talking of the film, she said, "My next release is ''Dum Maaro Dum'', in which I play a lively, colourful, happy-go-lucky girl called Zoey, who is the representation of Goa as we see it." Basu collaborated with Abbas–Mustan for the third time in ''Players'', which became the first release of 2012. The film was an official remake of ''The Italian Job''. ''Players'' was heavily compared to ''The Italian Job'' and was criticised for its execution and performances, including that of Basu. in India alone. Her performance in the film garnered acclaim from critics with Subhash K. Jha of IANS saying, "It's Bipasha who holds together the feverish proceedings. She delivers a full-bodied gutsy performance."After appearing in a guest appearance in ''Race 2'', where she reprised her role from the prequel, Basu was seen in the horror film ''Aatma'' which was directed by Suparn Verma and produced by Kumar Mangat and Abhishek Pathak. She received mixed reviews for the movie. Bipasha performed live alongside Atif Aslam, Shaan and Malaika Arora for the first time in series of concerts in Birmingham and London in the summer 2013.In 2014 Bipasha Basu was seen on numerous roles in different types of movies. She appeared in ''Humshakals'', a comedy movie directed by Sajid Khan opposite Saif Ali Khan. ''Humshakals'' was a box office disaster. She even didn't participate in the film's promotions because she was "extremely disturbed by the end result" and stated, "''Humshakals'' was the worst experience of my life". She was also seen in a horror film ''Creature 3D'', which was again a box office failure. Basu had completed work on her first English film, Roland Joffé's epic drama ''The Lovers'' in which she portrayed a Maratha warrior. The film was released on 13 March 2015. In 2015, Basu featured in Bhushan Patel's romance horror film ''Alone'' opposite her future husband Karan Singh Grover. India TV reviewed the movie and wrote that, "With some genuine scary moments and Bipasha-Karan's scorching chemistry, ''Alone'' stands apart from numerous horrible horror flicks made in the past." and also stated that, "Bipasha just takes her act to another level." The film performed moderately well at the box office.As of 2020, Basu is committed to star opposite her husband Karan Singh Grover for the second time in the crime drama web series ''Dangerous''.

Later career (2010–present)

She was then featured as a Kashmiri girl alongside Sanjay Dutt, Anupam Kher and Kunal Kapoor in Rahul Dholakia's drama thriller ''Lamhaa'', which explored socio-political problems in Kashmir. Principal photography of ''Lamhaa'' was disrupted many times by the locals due to its 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 considered replacing her with Vidya Balan, but she returned for the shoot later with necessary security arrangements. ''Lamhaa'' opened to mixed reviews from critics upon release, but Basu's performance received praise. ''NDTV Movies'' wrote, "Basu 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 Basu to shoot." Basu's next appearance that year was in Priyadarshan's action thriller ''Aakrosh'' as the wife of a ruthless cop who helps the police investigating honor killings in their village. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commented, "Basu actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be miscast as the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal". Basu's next appearance that year was in Priyadarshan's action thriller ''Aakrosh'' as the wife of a ruthless cop who helps the police investigating honor killings in their village. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' commented, "Basu actually doesn't have much to do and does seem to be miscast as the much-abused, bruised and battered wife of Paresh Rawal". Both ''Lamhaa'' and ''Aakrosh'' were commercial failures at the box office.Basu's only release in 2011 was the action thriller ''Dum Maaro Dum'', alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Rana Daggubati, which performed reasonably well at the box office and met with mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Talking of the film, she said, "My next release is ''Dum Maaro Dum'', in which I play a lively, colourful, happy-go-lucky girl called Zoey, who is the representation of Goa as we see it." In 2012, Basu collaborated with Abbas–Mustan for the third time in the heist action thriller ''Players'', which became the first Hindi film release of 2012. In 2012, Basu collaborated with Abbas–Mustan for the third time in the heist action thriller ''Players'', which became the first Hindi film release of 2012. The film was an official remake of ''The Italian Job''. Majorly hyped prior to release, ''Players'' was a commercial disaster at the box office, and was negatively compared to the ''The Italian Job'' and highly criticised for its execution and performances, including that of Basu. Her next release was the supernatural horror thriller ''Raaz 3: The Third Dimension'' directed by Vikram Bhatt. Co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta, the film proved a major commercial success at the box office, grossing worldwide. It emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi horror film of all time, in addition to becoming Basu's first commercial success after a period of relatively poor reception. The film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews upon release, with high praise for Basu's performance. Subhash K. Jha of IANS said, "It's Basu who holds together the feverish proceedings. She delivers a full-bodied gutsy performance." Basu starred alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the horror film ''Aatma'' directed by Suparn Verma. The film, and Basu's performance, received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and it was a commercial disaster at the box office. Basu next performed live alongside Atif Aslam, Shaan and Malaika Arora for the first time in a series of concerts in Birmingham and London in the summer of 2013.In 2014, Basu appeared in two films of diametrically opposite genres – the first was Sajid Khan's comedy ''Humshakals'' opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film was a critical and commercial disaster, and is considered one of the worst Bollywood films ever made. Basu didn't even participate in the film's promotions because she was "extremely disturbed by the end result" and stated, "''Humshakals'' was the worst experience of my life". The second was Vikram Bhatt's monster horror film ''Creature 3D'' alongside debutant Imran Abbas. This film was another critical and commercial failure. The same year, Basu finished shooting for her first English film project, Roland Joffé's Belgian romance time travel adventure ''The Lovers'', in which she portrayed a Maratha warrior. The film, and Basu's performance, received mixed reviews from critics upon release. In 2015, Basu featured in Bhushan Patel's romance horror film ''Alone'' opposite her future husband Karan Singh Grover. In 2015, Basu featured in Bhushan Patel's romance horror film ''Alone'' opposite her future husband Karan Singh Grover. The film performed moderately well at the box office, and received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Basu's dual role. ''India TV'' reviewed the film and wrote that, "With some genuine scary moments and Basu-Grover's scorching chemistry, ''Alone'' stands apart from numerous horrible horror flicks made in the past," and also stated, "Basu just takes her act to another level." The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. The same year, she made her TV debut by hosting &TV's anthology horror fiction series ''Darr Sabko Lagta Hai''.Her next role was a cameo appearance as herself in the 2018 comedy ''Welcome to New York''. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with MX Player's crime thriller series ''Dangerous'' opposite her husband Grover. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release.

Lifestyle brand

In 2015, Basu, Malaika Arora, and Sussanne Khan launched their own shopping portal "The Label Life". Basu's section of the portal included makeup, statement jewels, shoes and bags.

Personal life

from 1996 to 2002. During the filming of ''Jism'' in 2002, Basu began dating her co-star John Abraham, and they maintained a very high-profile relationship from 2002 to 2011. She briefly dated Harman Baweja, but they broke up in 2014.Basu met co-star Karan Singh Grover on the set of ''Alone'' in 2014 and they fell in love. The couple were married on 30 April 2016. In August 2022, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Devi Basu Singh Grover, was born on 12 November 2022.