Bipasha ready to take the mantle of past divas

The westernized look and role of city bred characters played with an arrogance of confidence, chutzpah and with flair by Parveen Babi seemed to have gone out of vogue from the Bollywood lexicon before the advent of Bipasha, though Karisma Kapoor tried to fill in the slot she could not succeed. Now Bipasha Basu seems to be on a take-off stage to assume the role and fill the void.

As with 'Dam Maro Dum' and 'Laila Main Laila' that firmly carved and strengthened the niche for Zeenat Aman so has 'Beedi Jalaile' and the double role in DHOOM-2 for Bipasha Basu. Incidentally, the double role for Bipasha in DHOOM-2 has come at a time when she is still in the process of cementing her place in the industry, and is an affirmation about her ability to carry out such roles with panache.

Bipasha is not made out for the roles, which are typical run of the mill roles, of running around the trees and uttering innuendos into the ears of the lover, as she is hot and so she thrives in unconventional as she has been doing from her 'Jadu Hai Nasha Hai' days in JISM and affirming it again and again through 'Beedi Jalaile' and DHOOM-2. Compared to Zeenat Aman who had Dev Anand as a godfather to back her up to the hilt by producing various movies and giving her diversified roles, Bipasha still does not have a godfather to promote her, but it is her attitude and her approach to the job, and the execution that brings her the roles.

The parallels between Zeenat Aman and Bipasha are also interesting in the aspect that both caught the imagination of nation through the songs, which conveyed the image of freedom and enjoyment, 'Dum Maro Dum' in case of Zeenat Aman and 'Beedi Jalaile' in case of Bipasha, a reaffirmation of blowing away all the tension through smoke into the air and enjoy the spirit of freedom. To add icing to the cake, both of them had an unconventional voiceover crooning for them, which also contributed in registering the image of freedom, Usha Uthup in case of Zeenat Aman and Rekha Bhardwaj in case of Bipasha.

The parallels also extend to the domain of personal lives as well, as Bipasha has been unconsciously following in the footsteps of her peers, Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman by living the life on her own terms, along with her boy friend who is a star in their own manner, an attribute which may be an anathema to the conservationists now as well, as it was in the past.

The difference that adds further mystique to the aura of Bipasha as compared to Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi is in Bipasha's looks. She is a dusky dove and not fairer in the skin and confirms to the norms of physical attributes as per the conventional definition of Indian beauty and to add icing to the cake is femme fatale who is Bengali with a look of tigress on the prowl in her eyes.

It is now for the industry to tap the latent position of Bipasha and she could become another Diva who is a perfect replacement and symbol of a beauty with a western touch seeped in Indian norms.

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