Bipasha Basu: I own the genre of horror!

I am meeting Bipasha Basu after a long time. The last time we met, she was promoting her horror film, and now she is set to anchor a horror show, &TV’s Darr Sabko Lagta Hai, created, conceptualised and produced by directors Raj & DK. This is the first time that the actress is flirting with the small screen. Here, she talks about why she chose this medium, her plans to produce horror films and why she loves the genre so much. Read on...

Tell me about Darr Sabko Lagta Hai.
It’s a TV series — short, episodic films and not serials. It will air on weekends and the stories start and finish on the same day. So, Saturday and Sunday will have two different stories. They are short and entertaining films. Many good directors and actors have been roped in to showcase their talent and play with the supernatural genre. I didn’t want to read a teleprompter and just narrate the story. My integration as an actor has been done very intelligently. I will be part of every episode, but my positioning is interesting. It’s not like the Indian horror that we usually see on Indian television. It’s a slick, contemporary take on horror and it is going to scare the daylights out of you. I really couldn’t say no to something like that as it’s a first of its kind.

Why TV now?
For five years, I contemplated what to do on TV. I wanted to do a fitness show. We discussed it, but realised that fitness would bring very few eyeballs. It would be a very niche show. I can do that later in life, but first, it had to be something that I had to be excited about. I didn’t want to do something predictable like music, reality, dance show etc, which are fun and maybe I will do them eventually, but this has an edge, it’s different. It’s also my home turf. Nobody can be called Queen of Fear except me. They cannot have anybody better than me! I know and can say very proudly that it’s a tag I completely own — I own the genre of horror. I’d been offered another horror show before, but it was very typical, so I didn’t do it. It is not about the money, but the content. I had to come up with something new.

Do you feel that film offers may decrease because you entered TV?
Absolutely not. In fact I think TV is as big as cinema today. My Darr... campaign and the way it has been shot and promoted like a film campaign. It’s turned out to be really nice. There is actually no boundary or difference between films and TV today. I am also doing something which is again different — the webisodes — Rohan Sippy is directing. It is the modern age of transition. If you are doing the same creatives for TV with the same unit and technicians it’s exciting! For me, is the arc of the character – it goes not just those 12 episodes but will go to season three. In a two-hour 10-minute film, the character growth specially for girls, lasts for six months, think about my character growth in 45-minute episodes for three seasons or even more where my character going, how in-depth and involved we have to be! So for an actor it’s very exciting. Finally, it’s going to be like Netflix because of the way we are all hooked onto the Amercian series like the House Of Cards or Orange Is The New Black.

Are you involved creatively in the episodes?
I am completely involved in my episodes, but I am not in a position to challenge Raj and DK because they are extremely talented. Also the kind of good directors that they have, like Suparn Varma, Sangeeth Sivan, Saumik Sen… I can’t challenge their credibility because they are really good!

Was it tough making the transition from films to television?
No, it was not tough at all. In fact, I was very comfortable about it. Nothing has really changed. My DOP Prakash Kutty is the same DOP of Alone, the sensibilities of Raj and DK are what I have worked with all my life, so in terms of the creatives, backing and production it’s exactly the same way that we do films. I am not seeing the difference. The only difference is, that for TV, we do an entire scene in one stretch, and I like it that way. Generally in films, they break up one scene into different parts and shoot different dialogues and scenes from various angles but on TV, we do the entire scene. I enjoy it because I like the flow and spontaneity in that. It’s better for an actor like me who remembers my scenes but it’s not easy for all actors.

What are you loving most about TV?
The fact that I am going to reach out to many more people with really great content. I think it’s the correct choice for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better show.

To end on a horrific note! What’s your scariest horror movie?
The Shining. Have you seen Jack Nicholson’s face? It was so scary! The story was fantastic and it’s an epic film.