Bips is not ready for marriage

By Subhash K Jha

Bipasha lately discovered John to be an even better actor off screen than on it. "On the night of my birthday John pretended to be sick and wanted to go home after a heavy dinner…all this, just to put me off the trail regarding the surprise birthday party my friends gave for me.

John was like… 'My neck is hurting…I'm feeling so tired.' I was completely taken in. I texted to my best friend saying, 'I don't think there's any surprise party planned for this year.' She messaged back with a cheeky goodnight."

Bipasha intended to go to sleep much before midnight when her birthday was supposed to be brought in. " Then we went to John's place. Before I could put on the lights I had all my friends attacking me. If that night I had to give an award for best performance it'd have to be to John. All the people close to me were there."

Bipasha says she had a fantastic birthday. "On the 6th night before I performed for the Screen awards. That same night my boyfriend took me out for a fabulous Indian dinner at the Marrriot. That's when all of John' s naatak happened.

I must confess I'm a huge birthday girl. I love balloons, flowers, gifts…The next afternoon my mother made lunch for all my friends. Then I had a third party in the evening. For my birthdays I like to be treated like a princess, and I was."

Marriage in 2007? "For sure not. I've turned 28. I'm not ready for marriage yet. Everyone knows I'm committed to John. I don't hide it. But I've too many responsibilities right now. Even my partner isn't ready for the plunge. Hopefully when both of us are ready we'll get married. But yes, it's definitely on the agenda."

Strangely Bipasha's family is no hurry to see her married. "My family totally loves and trusts John. And his family treats me like one of them. Our family respects our relationship. They know we're not in it for fun…Or endorsements," she adds cheekily referring to the write-ups about their professionally beneficial partnership.

"Can you imagine, a relationship for one measly endorsement. It's really funny. Now I get upset with insinuations only when a third party is brought into our relationship, or if my parents are hurt. They had once written I come from a poor family where there wasn't even a phone.

My parents have given me so much in life. Our dad has given all three of us sisters everything we always wanted. I'm blessed with a family that's simple and funny. At home we're always sharing a joke."