Face off with Bipasha Basu

quot;Oh don8217;t take me too seriously. I am just joking.quot; Flashes of a sense of humour 8212; perhaps Bipasha knows how charming she looks when she breaks into a smile.

Will bringing up the name of Bangalore hunk, Dino Morea, wipe that smile off her face? Wasn8217;t she seeing him 8212; particularly during the quot;scandalousquot; Calida underwear ads?

quot;He is my best friend, and that8217;s it.quot;

Come on, the old we are just friends8217; line doesn8217;t work here.

quot;We did have this on and off thing, but now it8217;s off.quot;

Enough about the love life, what about her career? She had been in the news about a possible debut in a film opposite Abhishek Bachchan. What happened to that?

quot;Yes, I was meant to be in J P Dutta8217;s Aakhri Moghul, but that got shelved.quot;

As did her film career 8212; why isn8217;t she in Dutta8217;s next project, Refugee?

quot;I was offered arole in it but there so many stars in the film that I did not think it would be right platform for a debut. I am sure his film will be a hit and may be I will get another chance to work with J P Dutta.quot; No sour grapes here.

But other than that experience, this Bengali beauty seems to have had it easy ever since she won the Ford Super model contest 18 months ago?

quot;Not at all. Breaking into modelling is really hard. I only had problems to start with. It is so difficult breaking into the clique.quot;

Does that mean that she is at loggerheads with the other models or does she have friends in the industry?

quot;Now I do. With time they come to accept you. And hat8217;s off to Noyonika Chatterjee 8212; she is one model who will help any new girl.quot; Or maybe it was the Bengali connection.

Does that mean that Bipasha is now at home in the city?

She is totally happy here and her parents are also moving down to be with her.

Why are they moving from Calcutta to Mumbai, don8217;t they trust her?

quot;Myelder sister is getting married and now they want to be with me.quot; And since Bipasha is always on the phone to her mother 8212; as she tends to get very homesick 8212; it will probably cut down on their phone bills too.

What does she enjoy most about being a model?

quot;Actually I am little bored of it now. But I do like to travel, and now when I go anywhere, after the shoot or show, I stay on to see the place.quot;

What is it about travelling that appeals to her the most?

quot;I must admit I am a bit of a shopaholic. I spend the first two days shopping and then I like to see all the sights. But I just love clothes.quot; Finally, Bipasha sounds like a young girl who loves the good things in life.

Does she share the same passion for shoes and make-up?

quot;I am not into make-up.quot; That8217;s because she knows she looks great without lipstick, powder and paint. quot;And shoes, I am not into them at all. Look at what I am wearing,quot; she says pointing to her worn-out black shoes. quot;My feet are just huge and ugly.quot; Abeauty acknowledging her flaws 8212; a rare commodity indeed.

Bipasha seems to have a firm head on her shoulders 8212; so has she made any plans for the future?

quot;I would like to finish my studies and my mom wants me to start something with her.quot; A family girl to the core.

Right now, Bipasha doesn8217;t think beyond her next meal.

She loves to eat even though you wouldn8217;t think so by looking at her. quot;I love food especially biryani, I can just eat and eat biryani. But I can8217;t cook myself.quot;

How on earth does she stay slim?

quot;I am not slim. I have just started to work-out as I want to loose six or seven kg.quot; She doesn8217;t need the gym, she needs to visit an optician if she thinks she is fat!

And what is this Bengali babe most likely to say?

quot;Rubbish, everything is rubbish.quot;

And least likely to say?

quot;I try not to use the word hate as it is a very strong word.quot;