Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor
Kapoor on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007.
Born	September 21 1980 (1980-09-21) (age 27) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	None
Domestic partner(s)	Shahid Kapoor (2004–2007)
Parents	Randhir Kapoor Babita
Awards Filmfare Awards Best Actress (Critics) 2005 Dev 2007 Omkara Special Performance 2004 Chameli Best Female Debut 2001 Refugee

Kareena Kapoor, (Hindi: करीना कपूर; born September 21, 1980)^[1] nicknamed Bebo, is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut with Refugee (2000), for which she won a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, Kapoor had her first commercial success with her second release, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001).^[2] Later that year, she was noticed for her performance in Karan Johar's melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, her biggest commercial success to date.^[3] Following this, Kapoor went on to star in several films which were unsuccessful at the box office, and encountered several negative reviews and criticisms for becoming typecast. Trying to reinvent her image, she took on more serious characters, and was soon recognized for her versatility as an actress.^[4] Her portrayal of a sex-worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award.^[5] She was noted for her performances in critically acclaimed films like Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006), and earned two Critics Award for Best Actress at the Filmfare. Despite not having that many hits to her credit, Kapoor has established herself as one of the leading actresses of Bollywood.^[6]

Early life and family

Main article: Kapoor family

Hailing from the renowned Kapoor film family of Punjabi origin, Kapoor was born on September 21, 1980 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, as the second child of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani). According to Kapoor, her first name was derived from the book, Anna Karenina.^[7] She is the granddaughter of legendary actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and the great granddaughter of Prithviraj Kapoor. Bebo, as she is fondly called, is also the sister of popular actress, Karisma Kapoor and the niece of well-known actor, Rishi Kapoor. Other living relatives include maternal aunt Sadhana, and cousins Ranbir Kapoor and Nikhil Nanda. Due to family tradition, her father wanted her to get married early and settle down, thus avoiding acting, which was considered a taboo for Kapoor women.^[8] This led to irreconcilable differences between her parents, and resulted in her mother leaving the house along with Kapoor and her sister.^[9] She was raised by her mother, who, with difficulty, worked several jobs to support the family, until her sister got into films in 1991.^[10] Kapoor did her schooling at Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, and later Welham Girls Boarding School in Dehradun. After studying commerce at Mithibai College, Vile Parle for two years, she took a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard.^[11] She developed an interest in law, thus enrolled at the Government's Law College in Churchgate.^[11] After completing one year there, she returned to her initial plan to become an actor,^[12] and began training under Kishor Namit Kapoor, the founder of Kapoor Acting Lab.^[13]

Career

Early work, until 2000

Kapoor was initially approached to make her debut in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) opposite Hrithik Roshan.^[14] However, after several days into the filming, she abandoned the project.^[11] She later explained, "It was probably destined that I was not to be in the film. After all, it was a launch for his son (Hrithik Roshan). The whole focus was on the boy. Now I am glad I did not do the movie."^[11] Her career commenced with J.P. Dutta's moderately successful Refugee (2000) opposite Abhishek Bachchan. Set during the India-Pakistan conflicts, the film centers on a young man, Refugee, played by Bachchan, who carries out the illegal activity of taking civilians to Pakistan and forth. Kapoor played the role of Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in love with him while migrating to Pakistan; her performance won her critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Kareena Kapoor has a magnetic personality, which will make the viewer fall in love with her instantly. On a scale of 10, Kareena's performance deserves 9 marks, dialogue delivery 8 and overall personality 10. What surprises you is the ease with which she emotes the most difficult of scenes, that too against experienced performers. There's no denying the fact that she is a natural performer who is very camera friendly."^[15] Earning Kapoor her first Filmfare Award in the Best Female Debut category, the film eventually went on to became the fifth highest grossing film of the year.^[16]

Breakthrough, 2001-2003

Starting off her year successfully in 2001, Kapoor's first film, Satish Kaushik's Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai opposite Tusshar Kapoor, surfaced as one of the biggest hits of the year.^[2] Though her subsequent films did indifferent business at the box office,^[2] her performance of a princess in Santosh Sivan's period-epic Asoka was well received,^[17] earning the actress her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare.

Kapoor as the cosmetic beauty "Poo" in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), her biggest commercial success to date.

Kapoor's last release of the year was Karan Johar's drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Consisting of a multi-starrer cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Hrithik Roshan, the film became the second highest grossing film of the year and the year's biggest hit overseas.^[2][18] Her performance as a cosmetic beauty was applauded and earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Filmfare ceremony. Taran Adarsh noted, "Kareena Kapoor is one of the main highlights of the film. She provides the much-needed fun and entertainment in the second half; her performance will be loved by the youth. Playing a cosmetic beauty to the hilt, she is simply adorable."^[19] These successes helped to consolidate her status in the industry.^[20] During 2002-2003, Kapoor went through a negative period in her career. Featuring in six films, all of which proved unsuccessful, she appeared in two high profile films: Kunal Kohli's directorial debut Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002), which was produced by Yash Raj Films, and Sooraj R. Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), which was produced by Rajshri Productions. Though both films generated great business overseas,^[21] they were critical and commercial failures in India.^[22][23] While her performance in the former was described as "inconsistent",^[24] her performance in the latter was criticized, "Kapoor was annoying in her role as Sanjana - a role we have seen her act many times before in movies such as [Karan] Johar's K3G (2001), [Subhash] Ghai's Yaadein (2001) and more recently [S J] Suryah's Khushi (2003)."^[25] These films marked the time when critics expressed their displeasure of her repetitious kind of roles, and criticized that she was indeed in danger of becoming typecast, which was fundamental in her attempting a diversity of more adventurous roles in the years following.^[25]

Turning point, 2004-present

Kapoor as the prostitute "Chameli" in Chameli (2004).

In 2004, Kapoor began working with independent directors and doing more serious roles that brought her critical acclaim rather than commercial success. Her role of a prostitute in Sudhir Mishra's Chameli (2004) made critics take notice of her once again, earning her the Filmfare Special Performance Award.^[5] Ashwini Deshmukh from Indiatimes wrote, "...Kareena goes way beyond anyone's expectations, including most decidedly her own, to deliver an all-time great performance, on a par with Nargis in Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), Meena Kumari in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) and Shabana Azmi in Mahesh Bhatt's Arth (1982). Kareena flashes an intuitive brilliance that comes to movies very, very rarely indeed."^[26] Following Chameli, Kapoor starred in Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed Dev, which dealt with the historical events of the 2001 Gujarat riots.^[27] Modeled after Zahira Sheikh, a key witness in Vadodara's Best Bakery case,^[27] Kapoor played Aaliya, a middle-class Muslim girl, a victim of these riots. Her performance earned her a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance as well as several nominations for Best Actress at various award ceremonies. Taran Adarsh noted, "Kareena Kapoor is first-rate. Sporting a deglamorized look, the actress takes a giant leap with this film. Her scene with Amitabh Bachchan [when the latter asks for witnesses to come forward] is an example of superb acting."^[28] In that same year, Kapoor played her first negative role in the thriller Fida. Although the film failed to do well, she received positive reviews for her performance, with one critic writing, "Kareena has finally moved beyond Poo in K3G and has come into her own. She has portrayed the parts where she is racked by guilt very well."^[29] Her next releases that year included the thriller Aitraaz, which was moderately successful, and the comedy Hulchul, her first box office success since 2002.^[30]

Kapoor as Dolly Mishra in Omkara (2006), the Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello.

This was followed in 2005 by Dharmesh Darshan's drama, Bewafaa, alongside Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Sushmita Sen. Kapoor played the female lead of Anjali, a girl who marries her sister's husband after her death. Unsatisfied with her married life, she sets on a relationship with her previous lover. The film received mixed reviews by critics and so did Kapoor's performance. Indiafm.com noted that "...This is Kareena's film all the way and the talented actress knows how to absorb a meaty role like this. She looks stunning, emotes with complete maturity and delivers a knockout performance"^[31] whilst another commented, "...Kareena...speaks in undertones and looks half-dead.^[32] 36 China Town was Kapoor's first release in 2006 followed by Chup Chup Ke. Both films managed to do moderately well at the box office.^[33] She next portrayed the role of Desdemona in the Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello, Omkara. The film, directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, co-starred Kapoor alongside Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Konkona Sen Sharma. Her performance was praised, earning Kapoor her fourth Filmfare Award and first Star Screen Award under the Best Actress category. Rediff.com concluded, "Her [Kareena's] character is one of the hardest to essay, as she goes through love and awe, fear and bewilderment, defiance to her father and submission to her man. Kareena doesn't have the lines, but she has moments demanding powerful use of expression, and she delivers."^[34] Later that year, she appeared in an item number in Farhan Akhtar's Don - The Chase Begins Again, a remake of the 1978 film Don. Although Kapoor's performance was generally well received,^[35] comparisons with the original version tended critics to conclude that she did not perform as well as the original performer, Helen did.^[36] Kapoor's only release in 2007 was Imtiaz Ali's romantic comedy hit Jab We Met opposite Shahid Kapoor.^[37] The film tells the story of two people with contrasting personalities meeting each other on a train and how they fall in love eventually. Kapoor played the female protagonist Geet Dhillon, a bubbly talkative Sikhni girl who lives life to the fullest. The film was well received by critics and Kapoor's performance was praised in particular. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted, "Uninhibited and spontaneous, Kareena Kapoor is the soul of this picture, its biggest strength, as she brings alive her character with not just those smart lines, but with the kind of candor actors seldom invest in their work. I can't think of a greater compliment to pay her than to say with full confidence that no actress could play Geet better than Kareena has."^[38] As of November 2007, Kapoor is working on Vijay Krishna Acharya's forthcoming film Tashan, which is expected to release on April 25, 2008. Other confirmed future projects include the sequel to the 2006 comedy Golmaal, Golmaal Returns; the animated Roadside Romeo; and the upcoming romantic drama Kambakth Ishq, opposite Akshay Kumar.

Personal life

Kapoor with current boyfriend Saif Ali Khan at Lakme Fashion Week (2007).

Kapoor began dating actor Shahid Kapoor, the son of veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor in 2004.^[39] While dating, their relationship was widely reported in the media, and was once in the center of a scandal when onlookers with mobile phone cameras filmed them kissing and released it to the news.^[40] The couple separated during the filming of their film Jab We Met (2007). Though media projected it as a publicity stunt for the film,^[41] it was later confirmed that the couple had indeed broken up.^[42] According to her, they remained on good terms, with her saying in an interview, "I have seen Shahid from his first film to Jab We Met and I can say that there is a marked difference. According to me he is a bundle of talent waiting to explode. I have that much of faith in him as an actor."^[43] In October 2007, during her breakup with Kapoor, rumours began floating around that she was seeing actor Saif Ali Khan. On October 18, 2007, during Manish Malhotra's grand finale show at the Lakme Fashion Week, Khan confirmed their relationship to the media saying, "Yes, we are not exactly shouting from the rooftops but yes, clearly we are together. And we are happy together!"^[44] Gossip columnists have linked her to a number of her co-stars, but she has strongly denied all these rumors."^[14] She also declared in 2006 that she would turn vegetarian to keep her weight in check.^[45]

Commitments

Kapoor set on her first world tour in 2002. The Heartthrobs Concert, which had her perform alongside stars like Hrithik Roshan, Karisma Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Aftab Shivdasani went on to be a success.^[46] In February 2005, along with other Bollywood stars, Kapoor performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.^[47] In March 2005, she visited the desert heartland of Rajasthan to boost the morales of the jawans. It was for a special Holi weekend episode on the Jai Jawan show, where entertainers and stars visited Indian troops in far-flung regions to encourage them along with the NDTV team.^[48] She also performed at the Marco Ricci Each One Reach One Benefit Concert, a fundraiser for the World Youth Peace Summit.^[49] In her latest tour, the Rockstars Concert of May 2006, she performed alongside Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor, Esha Deol and Mallika Sherawat.^[50] Kapoor donated her prize money, her half-share of 50 lakh rupees from her 2007 appearance on the season finale of Kaun Banega Crorepati with Priyanka Chopra, to St. Anthony's Old Age Home and Mount Mary's Bandra in support of its welfare activities.^[51]

In the media

Kapoor at the launch of Globus (2007).

Kapoor was ranked fourth on Filmfare's "Top Actresses" list for three consecutive years (2003-2005) and sixth later on (2006). During 2006-2007, she was the only actress to be featured among The highest tax payers of the year.^[52] Apart from that, she has frequently been featured in different lists by Rediff.com, including Bollywood's Most Beautiful Actresses,^[53] Bollywood's Hottest Heroines,^[54] Bollywood's Best Dressed Women^[55] and Women of Many Faces.^[56] Kapoor has appeared twice on Karan Johar's talk show Koffee with Karan; alongside Rani Mukerji in 2005, and Shahid Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in 2007. In 2006, alongside Priyanka Chopra, she was a guest judge on the singing talent contest Indian Idol 2. For the finale of Manish Malhotra's fashion display, Fashion Week 2006, titled Freedom, Kapoor modeled and walked the ramp with Shahid Kapoor and actress Urmila Matondkar.^[57] In October 2007, Kapoor featured in the list of Femina's 50 Most Beautiful Women^[58] and was listed fourth on Indiatimes' Top 10 Hottest Actresses of Bollywood.^[59] The winner of PETA's 2007 Cutest Vegetarian Celebrities online poll with actor R. Madhavan,^[60] she was also ranked number 8 by the U.K. magazine, Eastern Eye, as one of "Asia's Sexiest Women" in November 2007.^[61] Later that year, Kapoor, along with other Bollywood celebrities, performed at the opening ceremony of Kapil Dev’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) in Chandigarh.^[62]

Awards and honors

Main article: List of Kareena Kapoor's awards and nominations

Filmography

See also

• List of Indian movie actresses
• List of Punjabis

References

Further reading

• Verma, Sukanya. Star of The Week - Kareena Kapoor. Rediff.com, October 30, 2002. Retrieved on November 21, 2007.

External links

• Kareena Kapoor at the Internet Movie Database