Shock and Awe. That’s the effect Bai Ling, the Chinese-American actress and Calcutta International Film Festival jury member, has had on the city and its men during her stay here this week. t2 caught up with Ms Bold on Wednesday evening at The Oberoi Grand and got a taste of Bai Ling — unplugged, uninhibited and unusual.
The dress…
I think I got the dress from Dubai. The dress was more covered than a bikini. I am from Hollywood so there should be some glamour. If I had dressed up in an Indian attire, that would be boring because they already have it so why would I do that? Everyone looked at me like this… (pop-eye)! They thought I am an alien or something! There were old people who were a little hesitant. It was a brave dress. Probably they have never seen anything like this.... I feel everywhere I go here people look at me differently. I think people need to progress because it is such a holy country that understands nature and universe. They should embrace me and who I am. I think there are many young Indian kids who are like me but their mothers tell them not to do this and do that. When people try to put restrictions, I say I am not doing anything bad and I am not harming anything. One has to accept challenges and break the norm. Like Gandhi, Tagore and Mother Teresa.
… and the disrespect
I think I was too sexy to be called on the stage! I was surprised that the international jury members were not called on stage. I have been a jury member at the Berlin International Film Festival and I have been to the best of film festivals. I felt very strange. There were only local people on the stage. It was disrespectful for the jury members. I have been tweeting about the festival. My friends in US and China know I am here. I am trying to promote the film festival to Hollywood…. They invited us all the way here so they should have called us on stage.
Amitabh Bachchan...
The male actor who was in between, right? Everybody talked about him. He was charming and elegant but his speech was too long! It’d be nice if he had said dialogues from his films.
Calcutta and I...
The film festival director contacted me. I was very happy because last year I was at MAMI (Mumbai). This year, I am in Calcutta! Before coming here, I’d never heard of Calcutta. Today (Wednesday) afternoon, I went to the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa was such a tiny little lady. She was so powerful but she lived such a simple life. I feel lucky to have seen where she lived.... I have been to Victoria Memorial, The Alipore Zoo, Dakshineswar Temple and many other places in the city. I think I was a wild animal in my last life so I wanted to see the tiger and the leopard! The hotel (Oberoi Grand) is so beautiful. This city is fantastic. I also went to Nobel Laureate Tagore’s place… Bolpur.
People here use their hands to eat. I still can’t do it! I love the nan and the breads. I am from China so I like spicy food…. I bought some scarves and nightgowns. I like the patterns on it.
But I feel some Calcutta streets are dirty. I think the government should improve that.
The body…
As I grew up I had no idea who was Coco Chanel or Georgio Armani or Gucci so I want to present my originality. I write social messages on cookies and wear them on my body. When a child is born, he seeks nourishment from a mother’s breast. Why do we portray breasts as dirty? I think my body is divine and pure. I want to present it to the humanity and not hide underneath my clothes.... It is who I am as a person. I was very shy when I was in school. Then after I came out from the rehab for alcohol addiction, I had three options to choose from — to commit suicide, to land up in a mental asylum, or to be free. I chose the third. I want to show my body to the world because it is the most purest form of nature.
The performer…
I had started (as a performer in the People’s Liberation Army, to entertain the soldiers) at the age of 14. I used to play the violin and other Chinese instruments. I used to sing and dance.
Acting and me…
For a creative person like me, acting is the only field where I can actually unleash my potential and portray originality. When I am playing a character, I have the opportunity to live that character. In most cases, the character I am playing is actually myself! I get too involved when I am acting.
Going bald for Anna and the King…
I think that was the biggest sacrifice I made as an actor because I had long hair. If somebody asks me to shed my clothes, I am ready to go nude any moment but hair is something precious. Every woman should once go bald to actually feel naked! I felt like things were going to drop on my head. It was very strange but it was a memorable experience. (The film starred Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat.)
Crazy slut image...
I am small-built so sometimes my nipples come out from the dresses I wear without my knowledge and the paparazzi click. There are times I go drunk and crazy, and they click my pictures. But when I am in lovely clothes, nobody clicks. So, they made me a crazy person! They want to feature trash and I have been made to have an image like this.
Music and men…
My father was into music so I was interested. I am more into classical music. I am fond of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. But I like Rihanna and Justin Bieber. Rihanna is very stylish. I liked Backstreet Boys. I dated one of the lead vocalists.
Relationship status...
I have been in many relationships. It’s all good in the beginning but…. I can’t take names.... They are all big names in Hollywood. I had great romantic stories with each of them but I never got married. Now, I hope to find love and get married.
Bai-sexuality…
Actually whenever somebody asks me who I am, I reply, ‘I am Bai’. All they think is that I am bisexual! I am cool about my sexuality. I am in search of pure love. It can either be from a man or a woman. I don’t mind. Love is pure. It doesn’t have rules.
Ratnalekha Mazumdar
I am a Bai Ling fan because.... Tell t2@abp.in
Pictures: Pabitra Das
