Belonging to the first Indian film family, Kareena’s piece de resistance is her feistiness—the quality that has pushed her to the helm of her career

By AINDRILA MITRA (I DIVA, July 25, 2009)

Spunky and spontaneous—that’s the first impression I get of Kareena. She has an élan that comes naturally to her, in spite of a tiring long day at a campaign shoot. She readily moves on to the Khans. “It’s a dream-come-true for me to work with Aamir (Khan) in 3 Idiots,” she gleams. But talk about what sets her Khan apart and she’s diplomatic, “I have acted with all the Bollywood Khans and each one has a unique quality. They have amazing personalities difficult to earmark.”

Debuting with an off-beat film like Refugee to today’s plethora of commercial flicks—was it a conscious career move? Kareena confesses, “90% of Bollywood films are commercial because that’s where the money is. And coming from a mainstream family, I do a film that I really want to do and that’s not based on any genre.” Looking back on the kind of scripts she has chosen, she admits, “It could vary from the director, producers, friendships, temptation and even greed! Now I strictly choose a project based on the script. But earlier, I have given into temptations. The media and the audience expect the top stars to be super humans. But even we make mistakes and give into lures, be it a chocolate or a movie!”

As she gets into conversation mode, she opens up—upfront and honest. “My personality has changed in the last nine years. If there were no lows, there would’ve never been such a high. I
thank God for it every night. I’m a very passionate person—be it about my films, my love or things I enjoy doing, like travelling. So all my experiences are also passionate—a flop or
a hit. There was a time when people wrote me off saying I had no work. It was the fire in me that helped me fight back,” adding, “I realised that during hard times, no one is really there for you except your family. Today, nothing can shake me from giving up my career.”

With that passionate streak, she moves on, “Most industry people and the media tend to feel that because you’re a star kid , you get away with a lot. But that’s not true. The pressure of being Karisma Kapoor’s sister and the family name is much more than someone else who just comes in and with little effort gets a lot more appreciation. If I do a film like Golmaal Returns, people complain. Others’ expectations of me sometimes bog me down.”

But Kareena immediately self-defends, “I’m extremely dedicated to my work. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise that. I don’t drink alcohol except an occasional glass of wine when I’m travelling and I’m a vegetarian; these are just some of the sacrifices you need to make to be up there. You have to be disciplined and I’ve learnt it over the years. Otherwise, there’s a lot of competition.” Talking about her recently acquired, controversial size zero, she smiles, “As a visual medium, it’s a fact that you look better and your expressions work well with a sharp jaw line. I’ve experienced it myself because even I was a healthy Indian girl with puppy fat once. In a movie, you want to see good-looking people and one has to be fit. A lot of actors say they’re here to act and not expose. Unfortunately—an actor or actress—everybody’s taking their clothes off. And nobody wants to take off their shirt with flab below!”

Kareena’s just as fervent about her better half, Saif Ali Khan. “Both Saif and me try to maintain a private life. We don’t lie to the media, but we tell them as much as required. We’re out of town most of the time and whenever we’re not, we are working. We try to go away to get our space and sanity. Unfortunately in our own city, it’s difficult.” Talk about marriage and she politely shrugs it off. “I’m 28 and I’m not ready for it. I want to work and this phase I’ve been waiting for has come after a long time. I’m not going to give it up just yet. I’m not even thinking about marriage for the next two years. It’s totally out of the radar.” She emphatically questions, “I don’t know why people insist that a woman has to settle down. I think marriage is overrated. It’s not that we have to marry.”

At the helm of her career, yet grounded, Kareena simplistically redefines how she balances herself. “My parents have always warned me about it. The taste of success is only sweet when there’s been failure before. I’ve learnt to deal with it. And I’ve learnt it the hard way. I’ve really struggled, and that’s why I don’t have too many people to thank. Also, I’m a very positive person. I don’t look at the past; I always look ahead.”