Lara Dutta Says No Entry Established Her As An Actress: 'I Was Offered Bipasha Basu's Role Too'

Actress Lara Dutta Bhupathi has had memorable roles. Currently, she’s seen in the web series Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, playing a powerbroker. In an interview, Lara discussed how doing comedy films changed perceptions of her in the industry. She also mentioned being offered two roles in Anees Bazmee’s No Entry, one of which went to Bipasha Basu.

She added, “I was offered two roles, one that Bipasha ended up doing and one that I did. I picked the suspicious Punjabi wife as it was very different from who I am. That then set me up for quite a few years for what I did and gave me the opportunity to work with some of the best directors in our industry. It cemented my reputation as an actress.”

The former Miss Universe also explained that she turned to comedy to break the stereotype she faced. She said she didn’t want to be stuck playing only eye-candy roles. “I didn’t want to be just subjected to playing someone only glamorous. Most of the successful films of my career came from doing comedy and the reason that I chose to do comedy because it gave me a chance to break away from only being slotted as somebody who came from a glamorous point of view and it allowed me to be a little bit of a goofball that I am,” she said.

Lara also commented on rumours about her role in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. Saying that she has heard about it too, the actress added, “I am hearing it a lot as well. I am leaving the rumors out there. I also like reading and hearing about them so please continue. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of Ramayana? There were so many characters I would have loved to play if it was offered to me – Surpanakha, Mandodari, I am playing them all.”