by Subhash K Jha

Bipasha is thrilled with her together-appearance with John Abraham on Kaun Banega Crorepati. "The best thing about it was that it was for charity. You know I came to know about charitable work through John. Being on KBC wasn't about proving how intelligent we are. Though John wanted to earn more money for the charity, we had a really good time. But we preferred to not guess answers."

Any film with John will have to go beyond Jism. "It will have to be with a posh director. We really want to do a film together. But only when a director projects us well." She has just done a shampoo ad with John.

"We were both sitting on the bed when we got individual offers to do the same ad. We heard each other mentioning the same location and dates. Only then did we know that we were shooting together. It's a very cute ad film. People will like to see us doing something nice and stylish together. I've been offered loads of money to endorse stuff like paan masala. But we won't do anything that doesn't agree with our temperament."

Her career too is rocking. "Corporate is a very exciting role. I still need to sit down with Madhur Bhandarkar and get into the intricacies of my character — how she's going to dress, look and talk. I know how Madhur treats his female protagonists. I know the audience likes to see me as a glamorous actress with a bit of acting thrown in. Corporate will be a great challenge for me."

In Apaharan, Bipasha teams up with Prakash Jha. "It's not an offbeat film. This is a realistic commercial film. Being real came naturally to me. I'm a very real person. On the other hand, I've Dhoom 2 which is a youthful fun film. I'm gonna have a blast working with Abhishek, Uday Chopra and director Sanjay Gadhvi. And I'll be working with Ash and Hrithik. He's very funny. So it'll be a lot of fun."

Bipasha is tired of the oomphy image, though.

"They slot you with other actresses who are a couple of films old without knowing the kind of work you've done. I don't belong in the cheesy bracket. I'm too confident and dignified for that. I've never stopped being classy. I can't be crass on the screen. Jism needed me to be sensuous and I'm proud of it especially since it was my first film with John. But I didn't want to repeat myself. I want to do massy films like Barsaat. I started off playing women. Now I'm playing girls. I'm enjoying it."

She's kicked by the ongoing discussion on her re-structured body. "Yes, I'm into healthy living. And that isn't just about looking good. It's about giving more of yourself to your health and work. Everyone seems to be discussing my physique. Other people lose weight. But never with such fanfare. Weight loss has made me look younger. I'm pretty happy with my health, career and personal life. The career is definitely important. I'm very clear about what I wanted. My plans have come true."

Bipasha is ready to take the flak. "Some will like me, some won't. For every Amisha Patel, there's a Rani Mukherjee. I'd rather focus on Rani."

Rumours about John's affairs don't affect Bipasha. "That's just PR for impending films. I mean, me and Esha Deol scuffling over John was the most ridiculous story I've heard. Before Esha, they talked about Lara, Tara and Udita. What a man I'm with, wow! I get a lot of male attention just as he gets lots of female attention. If women wouldn't be crazy over him then something is wrong with him. Let him become a Shah Rukh Khan and then do such stories on him. "

"Fortunately, all these scandals are forgotten in three days. I'm intelligent enough to not get upset over such things. I've gone through all this since I was a model. I'm not insecure about my relationship and work. And I don't have vices. John is not a vice. And he's definitely not the vice president of this relationship. I am," her laughter goes all the way to the gym. "John wears the pants in our relationship. That's good because I can be really stubborn at times."