<p>Actor Bipasha Basu says she navigated her way in the industry through comments on her skin tone to tags like "too skinny"and "too fat".</p>.<p>Starting out as a supermodel, Bipasha made her film debut in 2001 with <em>Ajnabee </em>and gained acclaim for horror film <em>Raaz </em>the following year.</p>.<p>Between mid 2000s till the end of that decade, the actor's popularity soared with films like <em>Jism</em>, <em>Dhoom 2</em>, <em>Race </em>and <em>Bachna Ae Haseeno</em>. The successes, however, came with several tags.</p>.<p>In an interview with PTI, Bipasha said she got a "a lot of things" told to her throughout her career but she never paid heed.</p>.<p>"I was told that 'actresses can't be s*xy', that they can't be dusky, models can't act. At first, I was told 'you can't be so skinny.' Then when I put on weight, it was 'you can't be so fat.'</p>.<p>"I went through all of that. It was quite entertaining for me. It wasn't frustrating but I thought the tags were stupid. I looked at that as stupidity. I laughed at these things," the 41-year-old actor said.</p>.<p>Bipasha said the dusky tag which came her way was extremely "ridiculous" and then it gave way to rumours that she had undergone skin lightening treatment.</p>.<p>"We are a country full of brown people, so I thought it was ridiculous to call me that. Then suddenly dusky became sexy and I was made an exception, despite everyone in our country being the same colour. But I stuck to my principles.</p>.<p>"I didn't endorse any skin whitening products. But I have heard people talking about me that I've done skin lightening. So negativity exists, no matter what you do. I've learnt to my life on my own terms, that's how I am," she said.</p>.<p>Bipasha is set to return to screen five years after her film <em>Alone</em>, with her latest thriller, <em>Dangerous</em>, co-starring actor-husband Karan Singh Grover. The duo got married in 2016.</p>.<p>The actor said being away from the screen didn't bother her as she was enjoying the new phase of her life, where acting wasn't her top priority.</p>.<p>"I am not so obsessive (to see myself on screen). I give a lot of importance to my work, but I don't think it defines the person I am to me. I am not an obsessive person, I don't need constant focus on me.</p>.<p>"To get constant adulation, be on set, polls, surveys. It's exhausting, getting a tick everytime- from fashion polls, audiences, how many will you please? This wasn't a break for me. It was a part of my life which I enjoyed a lot."</p>.<p>Bipasha said she now wants to focus on acting and is already scouting scripts with her team.</p>.<p>"I feel like I should act. It has come to me naturally, not that lockdown triggered something. I am pretty much keen to start working by November-December, by the time we figure out a project, however long it takes."</p>.<p>Written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Bhushan Patel, <em>Dangerous </em>was shot as a film but would now be releasing as an episodic series on MX Player on August 14.</p>
<p>Actor Bipasha Basu says she navigated her way in the industry through comments on her skin tone to tags like "too skinny"and "too fat".</p>.<p>Starting out as a supermodel, Bipasha made her film debut in 2001 with <em>Ajnabee </em>and gained acclaim for horror film <em>Raaz </em>the following year.</p>.<p>Between mid 2000s till the end of that decade, the actor's popularity soared with films like <em>Jism</em>, <em>Dhoom 2</em>, <em>Race </em>and <em>Bachna Ae Haseeno</em>. The successes, however, came with several tags.</p>.<p>In an interview with PTI, Bipasha said she got a "a lot of things" told to her throughout her career but she never paid heed.</p>.<p>"I was told that 'actresses can't be s*xy', that they can't be dusky, models can't act. At first, I was told 'you can't be so skinny.' Then when I put on weight, it was 'you can't be so fat.'</p>.<p>"I went through all of that. It was quite entertaining for me. It wasn't frustrating but I thought the tags were stupid. I looked at that as stupidity. I laughed at these things," the 41-year-old actor said.</p>.<p>Bipasha said the dusky tag which came her way was extremely "ridiculous" and then it gave way to rumours that she had undergone skin lightening treatment.</p>.<p>"We are a country full of brown people, so I thought it was ridiculous to call me that. Then suddenly dusky became sexy and I was made an exception, despite everyone in our country being the same colour. But I stuck to my principles.</p>.<p>"I didn't endorse any skin whitening products. But I have heard people talking about me that I've done skin lightening. So negativity exists, no matter what you do. I've learnt to my life on my own terms, that's how I am," she said.</p>.<p>Bipasha is set to return to screen five years after her film <em>Alone</em>, with her latest thriller, <em>Dangerous</em>, co-starring actor-husband Karan Singh Grover. The duo got married in 2016.</p>.<p>The actor said being away from the screen didn't bother her as she was enjoying the new phase of her life, where acting wasn't her top priority.</p>.<p>"I am not so obsessive (to see myself on screen). I give a lot of importance to my work, but I don't think it defines the person I am to me. I am not an obsessive person, I don't need constant focus on me.</p>.<p>"To get constant adulation, be on set, polls, surveys. It's exhausting, getting a tick everytime- from fashion polls, audiences, how many will you please? This wasn't a break for me. It was a part of my life which I enjoyed a lot."</p>.<p>Bipasha said she now wants to focus on acting and is already scouting scripts with her team.</p>.<p>"I feel like I should act. It has come to me naturally, not that lockdown triggered something. I am pretty much keen to start working by November-December, by the time we figure out a project, however long it takes."</p>.<p>Written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Bhushan Patel, <em>Dangerous </em>was shot as a film but would now be releasing as an episodic series on MX Player on August 14.</p>