Bipasha has 13 avatars in Pankh

With her sultry appeal, earthy beauty, diva-like attitude and va-va-voom figure, Bipasha Basu was the ideal choice to play the imaginary woman who colours the male protagonist’s fantasy in Pankh.

Director Sudipto Chattopadhay says, “Bipasha does not play a real human in Pankh. She is a figment of the Jerry (the protagonist)’s imagination; an alter ego that he creates. She is neither a ghost nor a human but a fantasy who fits into Jerry’s emotional mood and psyche at a particular point of time. She has 13 personalities in the film which is one up over Priyanka Chopra’s 12 characters in What’s Your Raashee? I had written the characters with Bipasha in mind and I was delighted when she agreed to do the film as she liked the script.”

In case you are wondering how long the film is, fret not as it will only take 100 minutes of your time.

He is all praise for Bipasha’s acting prowess. “All the diva-like personas are larger than life. So, her body language, costumes, make-up and hair had to change with each of them. Bipasha has done a remarkable job in the film. She walked an extra mile for it and agreed to do it in spite of it being a radical film instead of a commercial one.”

Sudipto hasn’t seen too many of Bipasha’s films. “I haven’t seen all her movies but I liked her work in Jism; she held her own in Apaharan and was brilliant in Bachna Ae Haseeno.”

About his debut feature film, he says, “Pankh isn’t an arty film. We have made it for a sensitive, emotional audience who will understand the plight of the child-actor protagonist. Cross-dressing is a common phenomenon in Bollywood and it creates a lot of confusion in the child’s mind. We want to show how cross-dressing destroys a child’s life.”

Pankh stars Bipasha Basu, Lilette Dubey, debutants Maradona Rebello and Amit Purohit, Ronit Roy, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Mahesh Manjrekar.

Bips will finally say F***

Bipasha Basu will finally get to abuse in Sanjay Gupta’s Pankh, as the censor board has okayed director Sudipto Chattopadhyay’s demand to use the ‘F’ word without any beeps or deletion.

Pankh has been in a battle with the censors since the past 6 months, starting with the film’s content, abusive language and nude scenes. Starring newcomer Maradonna Rebello, Bipasha Basu and Lilette Dubey, the film is reportedly based on the case of child actor Ahsaas Channa, who's apparently a girl passed off as a boy in movies like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Vaastu Shastra.

Earlier the censor board had created a hue and cry about Maradonna’s nude scene in the film, in which he was supposed to bare his butt in the climax. Mardonna had told StarBoxOffice earlier, “The scene is crucial to the climax of the film; it’s not vulgar and has been handled very tastefully. While I did have my apprehensions before doing the scene, Sudipto has portrayed it so well, that I’m sure the audience will connect to the emotions portrayed by my character in the film.”

While the censor board was on a scene chopping spree and even gave the film an A certificate, Sudipto was hell bent on having the word F*** used twice in the film without beeps or deletion. He explained to the press saying, 'Bipasha plays protagonist Maradona’s alter ego. She fights as well as supports him throughout the film. She says f*** during one of the scenes where they are at loggerheads. She tells Maradona, ‘You are f***** up in the head, that’s why you want to f*** me.’

The censor board has finally relented and has allowed the words to be used, Sudipto is naturally ecstatic and this will be the first time a Bollywood actress will say the F word on screen without any beeps or deletion.

If you think about it, isn’t the industry going through its series of firsts, well better late than never!

Pankh - The Unbearable Lightness Of Being - First Look

Bipasha's seven attempts to dub

While dubbing for Sanjay Gupta’s “Pankh” Bipasha ended up visiting the Aradhna Studio 6 times, and even then she could not finish the work.

It seemed the studio was jinxed as whenever Bipasha went there to dub she always had a sore throat and couldn’t record.

After this happened around 6 times in a row, dubbing was shifted to a new studio and everything went on smoothly. So finally, Bipasha was able to dub on the 7th visit to a studio.

Bipasha has a very challenging role in “Pankh” in which she plays the alter-ego of a boy who suffers an identity crisis after being forced by her mother to act as a girl in the film industry.

Bipasha bonds with Bengali director

Dusky beauty Bipasha Basu shares a special bond with Sudipto Chattopadhyay, the director of her forthcoming film "Pankh".

Both of them hail from West Bengal and often shared Bengali delicacies on the set.

"Both used to converse in Bengali on the sets. They shared a very good friendship... Sudipto even brought Bengali food for Bipasha from home. Both used to enjoy the food," the film's publicist said.

In "Pankh", Bipasha plays the alter ego of a cross-dressed boy who fantasises about her. The film also stars debutant Maradona Rebello.

Bip's co-star goes nude

Ranbir Kapoor dropped his towel in Saawariya and John Abraham’s butt became the talking point of the town with Dostana and now young Maradona Rebello has done it in his very first film.

Yes, he has bared his butt for the audience to see but it’s not for cheap publicity. The 22-year-old newcomer who’s making his debut in the Sanjay Gupta film Pankh, says he’s got some extreme reactions from people, after a publication released a picture of that particular scene. “I didn’t know this scene would be out before the movie’s release, so I wasn’t prepared for them,” he says. But it is this scene that has got into trouble with the censor board. “First of all, I would like to make it clear that one should not assume it’s a bedroom scene just because it’s a nude scene. Secondly, I knew before signing the film that there is a scene like this. I took the approval of my parents before saying yes and I’m proud of it!” he says.

The particular scene was shot along with Lilette Dubey, who plays his mother in the film. “Lilette was very supportive and we were given the best possible provision to shoot it,” he says. For a newcomer, doing a scene like this can be quite awkward but Maradona denies there was anything of that sort. “Initially it was scary but after reading the script, I realised how important this scene is to the film and even my parents gave me a green signal,” he says. The actor believes that the film will lose out on some aspects if the said scene is deleted from it. “There is a strong current of sexuality running through the movie. This scene has been incorporated beautifully and is an important scene to retain,” Maradona adds.

No Full Monty in Pankh

It’s been close to 3 months since producer Sanjay Gupta’s Pankh has been stuck with the Censor Board. Along with having a tough time with the film’s abusive language and content, the board has raised a strong objection to the scene in which newbie actor Maradonna Rebello bares his behind.

Starring Bipasha Basu, Lilette Dubey and Mahesh Manjrekar, Pankh revolves around the story of a man confused about his sexuality after his mother parades him around as a girl in his childhood days. The Board, who has seen the film twice, forced its makers to delete the offensive scenes and beep the abusive words.

Producer Sanjay Gupta told a local newspaper, “Yes, the Censor Board has objected to the scene, but it is an extremely important sequence that is integral to the film. I cannot divulge details, as that would mean giving away the plot.”

When we quizzed Maradonna about his butt-baring scene, he was assuring, saying, “I’m positive they will pass the film; it’s a beautiful scene and is the climax of the movie. Though I wasn’t cool at all doing the scene earlier, my director reassured me, and I realised the importance of the scene in the movie. I’m a level-headed guy, and it was my job. To tell you the truth, when those voices in my head kept on asking, ‘Maradonna, how will you do it?’ I just did it and silenced them all!”

So another dare-bare scene might have to bite the dust. Let’s just hope Gupta's Pankh gets to see the light of day, and soon!