I had a crush on Josh: Bipasha

Bipasha Basu had a crush on her Singularity co-star Josh Hartnett when she first saw him and stared him for 30 minutes to create instant chemistry on first meeting. Read on for details.

Director Roland Joffe didn’t want the lead actors of his forthcoming film, Singularity, to meet on a casual note. According to Bipasha Basu, who plays Josh Hartnett’s love interest in the period drama, Joffe wanted them to have a memory to look back at. "I couldn’t believe I was going to be working with him. I had a crush on Josh when I first saw him," laughs Bipasha, adding, "So before he saw me, Roland asked me to hide behind a curtain. I saw Josh wondering what I was doing in the corner."



At this point, the actors were introduced to each other, and soon after, were involved in a workshop. "Roland wanted to create an instant chemistry between us. So there were all sorts of exercises. We were asked to stare into each other’s eyes for 30 minutes without talking, to get rid of inhibitions," she says, adding, "I’ve never been to film school, and Hindi movie acting is quite different. Adapting myself to this new style was a big deal, but I managed it easily."

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Bipasha’s first Hollywood project also stars Abhay Deol. It will see her play the role of a Maratha warrior princess, for which she’s trained in stunts. "We shot in the mountains, swamps, in the ghats, forts and palaces. And those are just the locations. I learnt horseriding and there are scenes where I’m jumping from one horse to another and sword fighting at the same time."



While the actor is currently considering signing a film with friend-filmmaker Heeraz Marfatia, who directed the Oscar-nominated short, Birju, and helped get her the part in this film, she also hints at plans to turn producer. "I would love to produce films, but I’m a very unpredictable person," she says. "The role offered to me by Heeraz is mad. If I end up doing it, people will either be very entertained, or totally stunned and will wonder what the hell is up with me."

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