I am a die-hard fan of Atif, says Bipasha

Actress Bipasha Basu is a fan of Pakistani singer Atif Aslam and she wants him to do the playback for her movie Race.

Just back from Kolkata after shooting for her first Bengali film, Sab Charitra Kalpunik (All Characters Imaginary) by Rituparno Ghosh, Bipasha almost swoons at the mention of her favourite singer.

"I am a diehard fan of Atif from the time he sang Tere Bin and Doori. I wish he would sing for me some day. I listen to his albums in my car all the time and so when I heard about the track Jaan-e-Jana in Race, I knew only Atif could do it," she said.

Bipasha not only recommended Atif for the song but also urged the film's producers to sign up her favourite singer. "And why not? Atif has a deal with Tips, which is producing Race. So this was my golden opportunity to get Atif into one of my films. And now Jaan-e-Jana is my favourite song in Race."

Talk about the crackling chemistry the actress shares with Saif Ali Khan in Race, Bipasha lights up. "It's a slick sensuous thriller and I share good chemistry not only with Saif but also with Akshaye Khanna. I was working with both Saif and Akshaye for the first time. They're good actors."

"It's been really hectic for me. We worked on Ritu's film on a very tight schedule. I loved my role and the chance to speak in my mother tongue for the first time. I also shot in Santiniketan. It was something I really looked forward to. Unfortunately, I was there for just two days and it was raining all the time. I reached late in the night, shot the whole day and returned to Kolkata."

Bipasha has a lot to look forward to in 2008. "Besides Ritu's film, which gives me a completely new image, I have one more Bengali movie, Shudipto Chattopadhyay's Pankh, lined up. It's a very disturbing film about a child actor, who grows up thinking he's a girl. I play his muse. I play myself. It's a very different film. Then of course, there's Race with Abbas-Mustan."

Bipasha started her career with Abbas-Mustan and hopes to work more with the duo. "In fact, I've an incomplete film Mr Fraud with them. It is a full-on comedy with Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and Anuuj Sawhney. I'm ready to give dates whenever Sanju and Ajay find time. But they're so busy, and so am I," the actress said.