The daughter of one of Bombay’s wealthiest families, Amisha Patel often highlights her dedication to the craft by pointing out that she is hardly acting for the money.

     Amisha also takes pride in her brains, having graduated with a BA in Economics from Tufts University in Boston, MA, USA. In a recent interview with Filmfare Online, she was asked to share her opinion about a scandal involving her costar Salman Khan, and her favorite preoccupations factored heavily in her response:
 

     ”Well I can’t comment because I don’t know how true [the allegations] are. He was great towards me. He was very helpful, very lovable, very sweet. I didn’t find anything wrong with him at all. Maybe I also command a certain respect from people and they know their limitations as well. People also know that I’m not here because of the money or… They know my background. They know the difference between people. And intelligence always intimidates a man. But he was very friendly, very warm.”

  • Amisha is engaged in an ongoing print war with Kareena Kapoor, sister of Karisma and daughter of the Kapoor acting dynasty. Where Kareena is blunt on the matter, Amisha opts for subtlety:

  • Kareena alleges that Amisha’s mother, who has now entered acting herself, is spreading false tales about Kareena. (For more, visit Kareena’s bio.)

  • Amisha has openly expressed frustration over the fact that the bulk of the attention for the 2000 blockbuster film Kaho Na…Pyaar Hai went to her costar, Hrithik Roshan. “All the credit [for] Kaho Naa… went to Hrithik. No one gave me my dues.” (Filmfare, Sep 2001) “Relationships in this industry are a matter of convenience. When Hrithik Roshan became successful, he found himself surrounded by a whole lot of new friends. Naturally, old friends like me have been sidelined.” (Filmfare, Jan 2001)

  • On this, at least, Kareena Kapoor — who was initially to make her debut in Amisha’s KNPH role — agrees with her: “The film is such a huge success so I would have definitely become a star. But I don’t know if I want to be labeled as just a star. There is a new star every Friday. I’d rather be known as an actress, and that would have not been possible if I had done Kaho Naa Pyar Hai… The film was made for Hrithik. His dad spent five hours on every frame and close-up of his, whereas not even five seconds were spent on Amisha. There are portions in the film where she has pimples and under-eye bags on her face. She just doesn’t look beautiful, but every shot of his was a dream. If I were in the film, I would have definitely got a better deal, but I still feel that the attention would have divided between us. So, I’m glad I didn’t do the film.” (Filmfare)

  • Amisha hates smoking. Recently, while on set, she heatedly upbraided Akshaye Khanna, a chain smoker, for his indulgence in the vice: “On the sets of Abbas Mustan’s Humraaz, Khanna, a chain smoker, was blowing smoke rings while reading a book in a corner. Amisha, who wasn’t even close by, got so wild that she instantly started lecturing the poor guy on the ill effects of the cancer stick. A cool as cucumber Akshaye just smiled through the entire attack but the tirade did achieve its purpose. Akshaye has vowed never to light a fag in the presence of Amisha.” Incidentally, rumor has it that Amisha and Akshaye dated during their teenage years, so perhaps her distaste is motivated by affectionate concern for an old flame’s health. (Hindustan Times, March 7, 2002)

  • But she’s not sore about being passed over for the lead in Hrithik’s next movie with the director of KNPH (incidentally, his father): “I’m old enough to understand that I may not be suitable for every role that’s going around. I definitely wasn’t suitable for Koi Mil Gaya. The role requires the girl to be older and mature. Hrithik is very childlike, the girl has to mother him. I don’t think the audience would have accepted me in that role. Hrithik and I are a romantic pair.” (Filmfare, Jan 2002). We can only wonder if Preity Zinta appreciates that rationale!

Amisha Patel
born: June 9, 1979
height: 5′ 4″
 

Many models have tried to break into the film industry, but few have met with such swift and celebrated success as Bipasha Basu.

    A newcomer to Bollywood, Bipasha’s debut role in Ajnabee has won her much praise and a slew of film offers. It has also embroiled her in a controversy surrounding her alleged quarrel with Ajnabee co-star Kareena Kapoor. The two apparently fell out when Bipasha turned to Kareena’s wardrobe consultant for advice. Kareena did not appreciate her assistant’s “defection” to the opposite camp, and, according to one film magazine, retaliated by calling Bipasha a ‘kali bilii’ ['black cat' -- an insult regarding the shade of Basu's skin].

   Bipasha is a little sick of the topic: “I’m not denying the tension between Kareena and me. Yet I’m not looking to take her on. Ajnabee is over and done with. I’m fast moving ahead… and I’ve no desire to trade insults with Kareena or anyone. I hate it when the press puts words in my mouth.” (Filmfare, Jan. 2002) Yet at the same time, she tells G Magazine that she won’t work with Kareena again. “There’s too much negativity. Too much has been written about our problem. It’s best for us to avoid one another. I would prefer to work in surroundings where I am comfortable.”

   Bipasha’s relationship with fellow model and aspiring actor Dino Mora also provides grist for the gossip mill, which is rife with speculation regarding an impending breakup. Often her best friend, Milind Soman, yet another model and aspiring actor, is cited as the cause. “I don’t see what the speculation is all about,” Bipasha tells G Magazine. “The day I decide not to be with Dino I will say so… Still people insist on linking me to my friends or every guy I am seen or working with. This kind of loose talk really damages personal relationships. I have always acknowledged Dino as my boyfriend. But now I feel it would have helped had I remained quiet about it. I have nothing to hide. I am not ashamed of my life. I am very happy with my boyfriend and everyone I am working with knows it. Dino and I have our ups and downs like any other couple. If a relationship is all smooth, it isn’t a relationship. We both are there for each other always. But we have both made a conscious decision to concentrate on our careers for the time being. Magazines insist that Dino and I have split up. Maybe they should ask us too. Every second day, I am linked with a different man. Earlier it was Akshay Kumar, now it’s Milind Soman. Milind’s my best friend, but I am constantly linked with him.”

   In an industry fixated on “gori” [pale-skinned] beauty, Bipasha scoffs at the suggestion that her looks will impede her film career. “There are a lot of dusky girls in the industry today. The fair, light-eyed beauty is the average Indian man’s fantasy, but the youngsters love the sultry, sensuous dark-eyed look. Internationally, women like Jennifer Lopez are the rage. I have never encountered any bias due to my complexion. Rather, it has been appreciated.”  Actually, in regards to acting, her greatest challenge yet is the dance routines: “Though I love dancing, the choreographed Hindi film numbers are something else. To be honest, I have yet to master the bump and grind routine. Seeing all these actresses do it so well gives me a huge complex.” (G Magazine)

Bipasha Basu
born: January 7, 1979
height: 5′ 8.5″
 

Call her Ms. Kapoor. Call her by her nickname, Lolo (which means “sweet” in Sindhi, her mother’s first language). But if you meet her, whatever you do, DON’T call her Karishma!

    That’s right: the popular pronunciation of Karisma’s name — arising, no doubt, from the Urdu word ‘karishma,’ meaning ‘miracle’ — is wrong. It’s Kar-IZ-ma, as in ‘charisma,’ and she apparently does mind the difference, since she often sets her interviewers straight.

    This isn’t the first time Karisma has faced the marriage gossip. Back in the mid-nineties, a serious relationship with Ajay Devgan also sparked speculation. When the romance ended, Devgan moved on to his future wife, fellow actress Kajol — and thus arose one of filmdom’s favorite tales.
 

    In the summer of 1995, when the breakup was still fresh, the former lovers found themselves at the same hotel — in adjoining rooms, no less! — at the Chola Sheraton in Chennai. The director and producer of Hulchul, the film Devgan was working on, decided to pay him a visit. But reception gave them the wrong room number. They called up to announce their arrival, but when a woman answered the phone, hung up in confusion. Kajol was home in Mumbai, sick, so who was this?

     For a long time, Karisma also had a serious grudge against Raveena Tandon sparked by her former flame Ajay’s dislike of the actress. Raveena alleges that the actress pulled strings to have her ousted from several films. (For more, see Raveena’s bio.) This seems to have passed, though the actresses have not worked together.

    Recently, Karisma has seemed the very model of tactful restraint, though her irrepressible sister has allegedly dragged her into several feuds. Thanks to Kareena’s rift with Bobby Deol, the two childhood friends supposedly no longer speak, and several gossip columnists have reported Karisma’s cold reception of Amisha Patel — her sister’s archrival — at a recent party to mark the start of their upcoming film.

    While Karisma made her name in “glamor” roles that placed the emphasis on dance items and short hemlines, her recent performances in more artistic fare like 2000′s Fiza and 2001′s Zubeidaa marked a new phase in her career. But fear not, fellows: though now established as a skilled actress, Karisma continues to accept roles that more prominently showcase her looks, which, as several critics have noted, are mysteriously improving as she ages. If dividing her attentions between commercial and highbrow cinema means she’s lost her claim to the Number One slot, she’s not worried: “See who’s taken my place. My own sister. She’s become the hottest thing in town while I was away. I don’t mind giving up my position as long as it’s still in the family. But I always tell Kareena not to take all this seriously. It’s so frivolous. My advice to her is to just concentrate on her career.” (Filmfare, Jan 2002)

Born in the steamy southern climes of Karnataka, this former model and Miss World 1994 shares a strained relationship with journalists for one reason alone: Salman Khan, the ex-boyfriend who just won’t quit.

   The much-chronicled relationship, born on the sets of the blockbuster hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, has served as a focus for the agitations of conservative Hindu politicians (Salman Khan is Muslim; Aishwarya is Hindu). But the majority of the scandal has arisen from Khan’s questionable treatment of her. Her black eye at a televised awards ceremony (attained, she claimed, through a fall) provoked whispers of domestic violence.

   At the time, Ash firmly dismissed the idea. “For some perverse reason, no one wants me to believe that I fell down the stairs. First the media calls me the woman of the millennium, a woman of substance. Then how can the same media make me out to be such a doormat? I’m a self-respecting woman, I don’t take nonsense from anyone. No one tries caveman tactics on me. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger can fall and get hurt, so why should I be any different? If I had been accosted or physically beaten, I’d have reacted violently. If there has been no reaction from my side, it means there’s no truth in those stories about me. My silence fanned the rumours. I don’t react to mudslinging.” (Filmfare, May 2002)

   The scandal peaked in early 2002, when an agitated Khan stormed onto the sets of Aishwarya’ upcoming film with Abhishek Bachchan (Ramesh Sippy’s Kuch Na Kaho). He pushed the actress to the ground, prompting intervention from spectators, who demanded he leave. Before departing, Khan backed his car into another automobile — Aishwarya’s, by some reports — leaving the witnesses shocked and, in the case of our fair heroine, bruised to boot. (B4U TV, Jan 2002)

   Finally, after years of denials, Aishwarya admitted to the Times of India in September 2002 that her relationship with Khan had been a troubled one — even after their official split. “Salman and I broke up last March, but he isn’t able to come to terms with it,” she told reporter Afsana Ahmed. According to the actress, the couple split after he inadvertantly admitted that he had been unfaithful to her. “After we broke up, he would call me and talk rubbish. He also suspected me of having affairs with my co-stars. I was linked up with everyone, from Abhishekh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. There were times when Salman got physical with me, luckily without leaving any marks. And I would go to work as if nothing had happened.”  She also claimed that Khan would physically abuse himself in order to gain her attention. (The Times of India, September 27, 2002)

   Some claim that the negative attention has lost her roles, but fresh from her triumph in Devdas, Aishwarya can afford to scoff at the idea: “It’s sad that I’m being projected as unprofessional and calculating. Filmmakers who have signed me know that the only healing factor in my life is my work. This is a male-dominated industry and I guess it has been difficult for many to digest a woman holding her own with dignity. Nevertheless, there’s somebody up there who’s with me.” (ibid.)
 

   On other fronts, Aishwarya and Manisha Koirala exchanged harsh words in a series of interviews in the mid to late 1990s. In the December 1999 issue of Showtime Magazine, Aishwarya recalled how the feud got started:

   In the beginning of ’94, a leading magazine came out with this ‘red hot scoop’. Ranjeev was supposed to have dumped me for Manisha. I called up Ranjeev the moment I came to know about this asking what all the crap was about. Ranjeev was a very good friend of mine nothing beyond that. I told him I didn’t want to get roped into their love story. After two months, they weren’t seeing each other. Manisha was seeing a different guy every second month.

   Time passed by and around ’95 I’d come down to India as Miss World who was visiting India. That was when I saw Bombay in Tamil and thought it was brilliant. I’d reached Bombay on 1st April, and coincidentally, Ranjeev called me. I was exclaiming to him about how excellent Manisha was in the film and that I was planning to send her a bouquet to congratulate her. At that he laughed at me and asked me whether or not I had been reading the papers. He informed me that Manisha claimed that she’d discovered some love letters that Ranjeev had written to me. I couldn’t believe it! It came as a very rude shock to me. I mean, if there was any kind of authenticity to this article, why didn’t this piece of info come out in July ’94? If that was the reason for her split with Ranjeev in a couple of months, then why brood on it for nine whole months and then come out in the open?

   This Manisha episode really affected me a lot in the beginning. I cried like crazy. I was really hurt miserable with all that was happening around. After saying so much she kept saying that she had been misquoted. After that split she had had innumerable affairs according to the media, so why didn’t anybody ask her why she hadn’t come out with the info the previous year itself? I never wanted to be bracketed with any particular name. But today the media has played it up so much that if somebody takes my name, Manisha’s name comes to mind instantly and vice-versa. Today, it’s four years after that incident, but she still keeps bringing that topic up. It naturally means that all this is stemming from something else and not merely a lost relationship. However, I’m beyond this nonsense. She criticized even her seniors like like Rekha and Sridevi, so who’s Aishwarya Rai? Her conduct only reflects her poor personality.

   One of Manisha’s close friends, actor Jackie Shroff, got involved, giving the cold shoulder to Aishwarya. In return, Aishwarya disparaged him in the press. She explains:

    As far as Jaggu is concerned, there are no negative vibes. I don’t usually fly off the handle, but on one occasion, I was needled and made some statements about Jaggu. That interview was not an angry retaliation as it was made out to be. People who know me insisted it wasn’t me at all. Well, the article at least proved I’m not a spineless creature, saccharine sweet, almost diabetic. Akshaye laughingly asked me, ‘Ash, you’ll never bitch about me like that, will you?’ But Jaggu’s interview was also uncharacteristic of him.

   It was reported that he sent me flowers and an apology afterwards. Not true. What he did send me was a copy of my interview and a note, ‘So glad you’re human. Now we’re quits. Love, Jaggu.’ Later he called me to ask, ‘Arrey, tu zinda hai!’ [Hey, you're alive!] My answer was, ‘Do you need to do this to find out?’ To be frank, until then, things were a little strange. Jaggu would often drop in on our sets but never say a word to me. But after that interview of mine, we’ve actually become close. Now he’s more relaxed. He says he finds it easier to talk to me now because ‘now I can relate to you, you’re human. Earlier I thought you had fallen straight from the skies. Now I believe tu apun ke jaise hi hai’. [You're human like me.] Well, all’s well that ends well.

   As far as reconciliation with Manisha is concerned, “I swear on anything dear to me, I never said [that she was seeing a new guy every month]. I said that the media has insinuated that she’s seeing different people. Once and for all, please let me clarify that Manisha and I aren’t the best of friends… there’s no love lost between us… but for goodness sake, I want all the viciousness and bickering to stop. I’m pained by the fact that a war has been created for nothing at all. The magazines fill their pages, but think how damaging it has been for both of us. You won’t believe this but I feel no bitterness or resentment towards Manisha. In fact, I hope she finds happiness soon. That sense of stability may make her feel more secure and calm her down in life.” (Filmfare, Feb. 1999)

    Aishwarya steadfastly denies the widespread allegations of her unprofessionalism. “If you look up at the word unprofessional, you will never find it linked to my name at all. Talking about movies, ad-films or even live shows, I have always been good at my work. Not in one place can you point out that I was unprofessional. My strong undertaking to the kind of responsibility I take on is something which has been appreciated by many.” (indion.com)

   And on the romantic front, the latest reports claim that Aishwarya is involved with actor Vivek Oberoi, who recently launched a public offensive against her ex-boyfriend. He told reporters during a live press conference that Salman Khan’s drinking and offensive behavior had gotten out of control, and later raged to the Times of India, “[Aishwarya] is free to see whom she wants, get married, have an affair… [Khan] has no business to harass her like this.” (Times of India, 4/1/03) (For more on this bizarre press conference, check out Vivek’s bio.)

   While neither Oberoi nor Rai has confirmed that they are involved, Oberoi was spotted waiting for her on the tarmac in early April, when an accident on the sets of her film fractured her ankle and caused her to be airlifted to Mumbai for surgery. Fans are crossing their fingers for a happy-ever-after, even as they hope that the couple’s upcoming film, Kyo, Ho Gaya Na? will be the hit that secures Aishwarya the Number One status she deserves.

Aishwarya Rai
born: November 1, 1973
height: 5′ 7.5″