She hit the gym with a vengeance when a tabloid infamously declared her "fat". Now Bipasha Basu, who completes 10 years in filmdom, says she is here to stay with her rigorously achieved best look ever.

The 31-year-old, who features on the cover of Vogue India's September issue, says being called fat was a final slap of awakening. She started with research, reading about fitness, testing, trying out methods and routines and enforcing strict dietary restrictions to achieve the zero-flab toned-body.

"I cut out rice completely. I love it, but I don't understand proportions when it comes to rice, so I cut it out, and that works for me, " said the actress, who now eats rice only once a year on her birthday, Jan 7.

The doe-eyed actress, who has 75, 000-odd followers on Twitter, is also confident of a strong inning in the Hindi film industry with her new looks.

"I have a few years left in me... This industry is hard on women, but new Indian actresses have changed so much that it is difficult to let them leave. And I think I'm looking my best now, " she said with elan.

Styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania, fashion director of Vogue India, the former model has been photographed by Suresh Natarajan.