Bipasha Basu: Stop that

Long legs to go slow

The Jism girl was blushing pink in her last breeze through the city. The breast cancer awareness cause (for which she walked the ramp recently in Satya Paul?s Think Pink collection) apart, the sultry Calcutta beauty is finally settling down to ?playing it safe? after a string of unusual roles in her kitty.

?It?s a little tiring to pull a film all on your own?I want to take it a little easy now,? sighed Bipasha, counting just-canned and yet-to-be-shot movies in the same breath.

Her city sojourn continues with the yet-untitled Buddhadeb Dasgupta film that could see her back in town ? no, she hasn?t signed on the dotted line yet ? before the month-end to star opposite Rahul Bose in a film revolving around a father-son relationship.

But if the Dasgupta film happens, Bips would be darting back and forth between other cities and commitments of which her diary is pretty much full. There is Suneel Darshan?s Barsaat for which shooting will commence from October-end. ?It?s a happy love story,? purrs the supermodel-turned-actress.

Though a trifle tired of the one-woman shows, Bipasha holds forth on her rather experimental ventures like shining trophies. ?Box-office success is not the only yardstick I swear by. Madhoshi, for example, where I played a schizophrenic, bombed but I really enjoyed doing it and got great reviews from fans and even journalists,? says Bipasha with a toss of her auburn head.

The attitude is palpable, given the taste of early success, which is still very fresh. ?I am all of three years old in the industry and have been playing the protagonist right from the start,? boasts the beauty, who first stormed Bollywood with her rather unusual roles in Raaz and Ajnabee.

Cut to the present and she is quite enthused about working in John Matthew Mathan?s untitled project with Ajay Devgan, Shahid Kapur and Amrita Rao. The contents are a mystery but she lets you in on the buzz of a couple of crossover films she might be dabbling in, in the near future. Calcutta to Canada?

Swaraj: Woman's world

An act of faith

Issue-based films are quick to lose out in the masala market but they raise subdued voices that often make a difference.

One such film is Anwar Jamal?s Swaraj, which releases this Friday at 89 Cinemas (Swabhumi). Set in rural Rajasthan, Swaraj tells the tale of four strong-willed low-caste women determined to change their world where women have very little say.

The film does explore an interesting premise, where the women, tired of digging deep into dried-up wells, approach the powers that be to get a pipeline that would bring water to their village. After seemingly futile trips to the sarkari offices, the dream comes true when a woman collector finally sanctions the pipeline.

Based on a true story, Swaraj stars talented stage artistes from Delhi, including Alka Amin, Mandakini Goswami, Harvindar Kaur and Tannishtha Chatterjee.

Director Jamal, who has been an award-winning documentary film-maker, says: ?The film is an act of faith in the power of grass-roots democracy, in the resilience of women and in the indomitable strength of those called the low caste.?

Truth retold

It?s real to reel and back again. Alpha Bangla?s Searchlight (similar to Akash Bangla?s?s Police Filez and sharing the same production team), reconstructs cases related to crime and human rights happening across the state.

The reel had to be changed to accommodate real developments when police claimed to have cracked the Susil Pal murder mystery on October 5. The case, which went on air on Monday and was supposed to conclude by Friday, had already been canned when the CID arrested four of the accused.

Following this, the Searchlight team scrambled to re-shoot major portions of the five-part mini-series before it went on beam. ?A lot of changes will be visible episode three onwards,? said a spokesperson. ?The original ending showed the doctor being dragged away with the identity of the miscreants a blur, but police investigation revealed something different,? the spokesperson added.

Tune into Alpha Bangla at 8.40 pm all this week to know what that is.

Amitabh: Smart card

Big man, giant wish

If birthdays are special can the wishes remain mundane? No way, as Amitabh Bachchan found out on his 62nd birthday, when Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) presented him a two-km-long birthday card.

The one-of-a-kind birthday card carried the warm wishes of the company?s six lakh business partners. Weighing all of 200 kg, the Eveready card was specially airlifted to Mumbai for the presentation.

Speaking on the occasion, the Big B, being his typical modest self, said: ?This is the first time that a company has personally felicitated me on my birthday. My sincere thanks to team Eveready for this novel concept.?

The market leaders in dry cell battery and flashlight industry, Eveready had appointed Bachchan its brand ambassador in April this year.

On the big day, Deepak Khaitan, executive vice chairman and managing director of the company, said: ?It is a matter of great pride that Eveready partners from all corners of India have come together to wish Mr Bachchan on a scale befitting his stature. It has only been possible due to our formidable strength in distribution.?

Bachchan confessed being confused about the concept. ?When I first heard about this two-km-long birthday card, I was intrigued and wondered how all this would be done. Obviously, I had underestimated the power of Eveready,? he said.