The dusky bong beauty, Bipasha Basu has stepped into Mani Ratnam’s Raavan star cast.

She is playing Mandodari, a character that Nayanthara was approached to do earlier. This character is a pivotal role in the film and she has an item song and also a few scenes. Bipasha has given almost 20 days inspite of her busy schedule, as she was keen to be a part of a Mani Ratnam film.

Raavan unit is currently shooting near Mumbai and Bipasha will join the unit by September 15. The buzz is that the actress had agreed to do the film, a month back, but on Mani’s strict instructions, Bips was not allowed to talk about it.

So it remains a mystery why Suhasini called up Nayanthara who was shooting abroad for Aadhavan and ask for dates? Sources close to Bipasha says that her costumes are ready and she is very happy and looking forward to working in the film.

There are a lot of reasons why Bipasha Basu deserves to be at numero unto spot on Maxim’s annual Hot 100 list. She’s bloody good at what she does, has the kind of sex appeal most Bollywood divas can only dream about, and after close to a decade in the industry, is still hotter than a room full of her contemporaries standing around in bikinis.