London-based designers – Lubna and Uzma Rafiq – along with UK-based talent agent Ronita Sharma Rekhi, have accused Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu for being unprofessional and refusing to walk the ramp for a fashion show.
Mumbai Mirror spoke to the organisers behind the fashion show which showcases Indian and Pakistani fashion on stage.
“While still in India, Sana [Bipasha’s manager] told us that Bipasha wanted her husband Karan to fly out to London with her, and that her stay be extended to five nights. We had already booked rooms at Mayfair, but since there were no rooms available when she extended her stay, we shifted her to the Montcalm Hotel, another five-star property which cost us 600 pounds per night. All her requirements were taken care of, and an advance fee was paid. Within minutes of landing in London, we handed her two local SIM cards which she threw back in our faces because it only had a five-pound recharge. There were around 20 people watching us, including the chauffeurs. The tantrums got worse once Bipasha reached the hotel,” said Rekhi.
It was reported that despite not walking the ramp, Bipasha and her husband emerged from the hotel room after five hours without talking to anybody. The organisers also had to take care of the actress’s manager as she was allegedly left in the lurch by the couple.
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“The total loss suffered by the show organisers because of Bipasha amounts to 7,800 pounds, apart from the travel expenses paid to her in cash at the airport. Bipasha used this as ‘honeymoon money’, but we will fight this till the end. We are going to write to the visa and immigration centre to debar her from working in the UK in future,” Rekhi added.
Bipasha was supposed to have walked with Pakistani actor Javed Shaikh of the TV show Zindagi Gulzar Hai fame.
Incidentally, a spokesperson for Bipasha said that she had to book her own hotel stay.