Bebo comes of age!

“When God endows with beauty, vanity comes along”- This axiom fits aptly for this beautiful actress who would have gone down in the history of Indian cinema as one of the haughtiest artistes. Except that love saved her in time. A completely transformed person, she is now a much mellowed Kareena Kapoor. And with her amazing mix of vibrance, youth, innocence and the tinge of pride she has captivated numerous hearts. From having earned a reputation of being the “loud mouth” of the industry once to being one of the best talents around (belonging to the current generation), Kareena has come a long way. She turns 26 on September 21, has just spent six years in the film industry, but already has prestigious Rajeev Gandhi Young Achiever Award 2005 and Smita Patil Memorial Award 2006 to her kitty. Bebo, as she is fondly called, has acting in her blood. She is keeping alive the tradition of Bollywood’s ‘Royal Clan”-The Kapoors. Even though when she was very young, she saw the infamous split between her parents Randhir Kapoor and Babita (yesteryears actors). Like her elder sister Karishma, she was raised by her mother. Though she would accompany Lolo (Karishma) to her shoots and would fondly wear wigs and other costumes, she never planned to act in movies, rather wanted to become a lawyer. She even went to Harvard University to get a computer diploma (breaking the myth that Kapoors only indulge in acting and eating). But she took to acting following the footsteps of Karishma, who had already become a big star by that time. Bebo-The Outspoken Brat! But unlike Karishma, Bebo was not the kinds to be politically correct. After all she was made of different stuff! Even before the release of her debut film, she sent ripples by refusing (on her mother’s advice) to be a part of Rakesh Roshan’s blockbuster movie ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’ stating that the movie would not be able to do justice to her debut, as the focus would be on HrithikRoshan. Well, she stood by her decision even after the movie turned out to be an exceptional hit later and a dream platform. The irony was that unlike other star sons or daughters, she had no family launchpad, only her mother and sister by her side. She made her debut in J P Dutta’s Refugee in 2000 with Abhishek Bachchan and won critical acclaim for portraying the role of a Pakistani girl with an amazing ease sans any makeup. The nation was awestruck by her outstanding beauty in next film Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai that turned out to be a major hit. But the next two years were pretty dry and Kareena had to settle with no hits at all. Kareena’s character ‘Pooh’ in Karan Johar’s Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham was a trend-setter. She became the teen icon overnight. The audience lover her so much that it became difficult for her to come out of that shadow of that role for a long time. She also received appreciation for playing the character of ‘Kaurwaki’ in Santosh Siwan’s Asoka. But the rest of the films in 2002-2003 bombed at the box-office, and soon critics described her as the “big show with no substance”. Strangely, big banners were still keen to sign her for their films. “Hits or no hits, I am still a star,” she would arrogantly respond. That apart she was actually earning a reputation. Certainly not the one anyone would be proud of. Which other actress would have remarked “brainless comic flicks of David Dhawan-type are not my cup of tea and I shall never act in them”. This despite that her sister Karishma had actually delivered quite a number of hits with the same director. “Sanjay Leela Bhansali doesn’t know how to make movies, Kareena said once. No only this, unlike her ever-dignified sister, she even went public about the tensions between her parents and described how both the sisters were raised by her mother alone. She began to be known as the most loud-mouthed actress at that time thanks to her remarks about the fellow stars. Though she insisted that it was a part of her frank and honest nature, but her remarks certainly were not going too well with the others. Her tussle with Bipasha Basu, when she reportedly called her “a black cat” raised many eyebrows during the shooting of Ajnabi. She even turned down good friend Karan Johar’s super-hit movie ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ insisting that she would not bring down her price for the movie that hurt the latter so much that they did not communicate for several months. But Kareena apologised to Karan much later in an interview saying what she did was wrong. But her close friends defended her on several occasions stating that she was being misunderstood by media and her rivals. The arrival of Kareena-The Actress! Just when she was being ridiculed by the critics for doing the same run-of-the-mill type of roles, Kareena bounced back in 2004 with Chameli, where she played the title role and portrayed the bold character of a prostitute. The critics announced the arrival of the actress after seeing her performance in the movie. No wonder, she won the Filmfare Special Performance Award that year. Now she knew what she wanted. The girl who kept on insisting earlier that she was happy playing the roles that suit her young age, now was determined to do meaningful cinema. Thus followed movies like Yuva and Dev (she donned almost no make-up for both the movies). She won the Filmfare Critics’ Award for Best Performance for Dev. Alongside she delivered hits like Aitraaz and Hulchul. She even played a negative role for the first time in Fida. By this time, she had become the highest paying actress in the country charging over Rs 1 crore price for each movie along with none other than Aishwarya Rai. She could also be credited for doing the most versatile roles among the actresses of her generation besides Rani Mukherjee. Love-struck Kareena mellows down! It is said that love can do what even mighty swords cannot. Ever since the news of her romance with newcomer Shahid Kapur donned the headlines of the gossip magazines, people began to see a changed Kareena. Frank as she has always been (sometimes over the top), she did not hesitate in telling the whole world that she was indeed in love with Shahid. They stuck together even while the controversy over the infamous MMS clip showing their intimacy became the talk of the town. Kareena has mellowed down. She is not the “same brat” any more rather a more mature, sensible actress who weighs her words before uttering them in public. Today Kareena is working with the best of directors in the best of projects (courtesy her better sense of judgement in choosing the right type of roles). Her heart-wrenching performance in recently released Omkara is like a seal of approval on the versatile talent of this exceptionally beautiful star- nah actress as we can safely say. In barely six years in the industry Kareena has proved her mettle to a great degree and has become inspiration for many young aspiring talents.