The Youth Icon, in the words of critic-director Khalid Mohammed, is undoubtedly Kareena Kapoor aka Bebo. She is gorgeous, glamorous and a superstar (coz she belongs to the superstar family...Kapoors). She has had a spat of 12 flops and counteracted by 2 hits recently and still she is going great. Bebo, sister of Karishma Kapoor aka Lolo and daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita made her debut in J.P.Dutta’s ’’Refugee’’ with another starlet Abhishek Bachaan. Her career had gone through the roughest possible state and she has survived the worst. Her career graph has suddenly taken an upswing with two hits both of which she is not responsible. But still the film-makers cast her as she is the hot happening glamorous queenbee of Bollywood.
Bebo’s foray into the films started with ’’Refugee’’ where her performance was critically acclaimed, considering her debut, but the film didn’t do well. Then came ’’Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai’’ with Tushar which did an okay business. Subhash Ghai signed her for ’’Yaadein’’ with Hrithik but the movie went on to become one of the biggest flop in the ghai camp despite big stars. Her character in the thriller ’’Ajnabee’’ was totally sidelined by Bipasha basu’s dare-bare act, who went on to become an overnight sex goddess. Then came ’’Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham’’ with a start cast which not only set the cash registers ringing but also made her character Poo famous, apart from making her famous. Her disappointments were big from then. The much expected ’’Asoka’’ with SRK proved a dud at the box office and though Kareena had a meaty role, the movie was a big letdown. Her third pairing with Hrithik in ’’Mujhse Dosti Karoge’’ also didn’t make any difference coz she hardly had a role as Rani was the main protagonist. Kareena gave a volley of flops which includes ’’Taalash’’ with Akshay Kumar, ’’Khushi’’ with Fardeen, ’’Jeena Sirf Mere Liye’’ with Tushaar. Rajsri’s ’’Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’’, the fourth outing with Hrithik and the movie which she banked on, and where she had the meatiest role (10 songs featuring her!!) was the biggest flop in her career.
Nothing was going ’’for’’ Bebo until ’’Chameli’’ happened to her. Her role as a sex worker won her rave reviews and also won her critical acclaim and awards. ’’Yuva’’ was critically acclaimed but Kareena was totally sidelined by the star cast and was not impressive. ’’Dev’’ was a very good movie by Govind Nihalani and Kareena gave an excellent performance and won critical acclaim. Her on screen pairing with her boyfriend Shahid Kapoor in ’’FIDA’’ was also a dud at the box office. When she was satisfied with critical acclaim, came two movies ’’Aitraaz’’ and ’’Hulchul’’ which were two commercial hits but Kareena didn’t have any role to talk about in both the movies. Her recent ’’Bewafaa’’ was a poor show after a spectacular opening but she is still ON and is on a signing spree.
Upcoming Movies
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- She is currently doing three movies with Shahid Kapoor
a) ’’Milenge Milenge’’ directed by Sathish Kaushik.
b) Priyadarshan’s untitled production.
c) Abbas Mustan’s next production.
’’Dosti’’ with Akshay, Bobby, Lara and Juhi.
’’Kyunki’’ with Salman and Rimi sen
Shyam Benegal’s next with Vivek Oberoi.
(source: https://imdb.com)
Do you Know?
1.Roles that Kareena had lost till date are way too many... let us look at them one by one.
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a) Kareena was the initial choice for the female lead in ’’Kaho Naa Pyar Hai’’ but somehow things didn’t work out and Amisha Patel stepped in her shoes. Result the movie was a SUPER HIT.
b) Kareena was the perfect choice for the role of Naina for ’’Kal Ho Na Ho’’ but she turned down the offer for reasons not stated. Preity Zinta bagged the role and became much famous. The movie was a SUPER HIT.
C) Kareena was supposed to do ’’Page 3’’ but she again turned it down. Konkana Sen Sharma slipped into the role and did a great job. The movie again was 2005’s biggest hit.
d) Kareena was screen tested for ’’Devdas’’ by Bhansali but Ash was chosen for the role coz she had the aristocratic look for Paro’s role. The movie was another HIT.
e) Kareena was zeroed for the role of Michelle in ’’Black’’. But again she lost it because Amitabhji was not ready to work with hr after his son’s breakup with kareena’s sister. The movie was a HIT.
f) Kareena walked out of Vashu’s ’’Deewanapan’’ opposite Arjun Rampal. The movie was a FLOP.
Analysis says that 5 out of 6 films where Kareena lost roles were SUPER HITS.
2. The awards that she has got till date had been less but she has been critically acclaimed for her performances.
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a) Filmfare Best Debutant Award for ’’Refugee’’ in year 2001.
b) Critics AWard and Filmfare Special Performance Award for ’’Chameli’’ in Bollywood Awards 2004.
c) Critics Award for ’’Dev’’ in Bollywood Awards 2005.
d) ’’DIVA’’ award from IIFA for the year 2004.
3. Kareena had problems with the three most happening actresses. Let us look into that....
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a) With Amisha Patel when she stepped into her shoes for ’’Kaho Naa...’’. After that, there had been problem after problem between them and each of them cursing one another. May be the media is blowing it out of proportion, but Kareena is not cozy with Amisha.
b) With Bipasha, on the sets of ’’Ajnabee’’. Kareena had a feeling that her costumes were less noticed and there was a commotion and there has also been many rumours regarding this. So Bips and Bebo are not friends.
c) The discussion won’t be complete if Priety is not in the picture. Priety had told that Kareena has a banner as a starlet and that she is still in the industry because she is from a star family. Priety denies all these rumours and media is not buying it. Also Kareena was upset with Priety stepping into her shoes.
Hope Kareena chooses her role properly and makes a mark in Bollywood just like her sister.
I would rate the actress 7.5 on 10 for her glamour quotient and some critical acclaim.