Kareena Kapoor: Shahrukh is the only man to make me go weak in the knees!
By: Bollywood Mantra Staff on 23rd November 2003
From playing arrogant airheads to multi-faceted women of substance, actress Kareena Kapoor is attempting to ford the abyss that separates a pin-up from a performer. Mini Chandran-Kurian catches her in a meditative mood as she talks about her mum, movies and Shah Rukh Khan
A street filled with ordinary sights – the grocer, the paanwallah, people bustling past, a watermelon cart… She runs blindly, her face raw with panic, untouched by make-up, poetry in motion. Govind Nihalani, hard taskmaster that he is, peers into the lens and nods imperceptibly. Dev is in the making, mixing serrated visual with hard-hitting statement; also marking the younger Kapoor girl’s debut in parallel cinema.
If the moment and the meaning lie in the choices one makes, Kareena is making hers. And Dev is not the only one, Chameli pummels and pushes the impossibly glam ‘Poo’ into a half-lit figure, joyous and melancholy in parts. In Kareena’s own words, ‘an innocent prostitute whose very face reflects purity of soul…’
She tells you confidingly, “I’ve taken a big risk with Chameli , and I’m having sleepless nights over it; but really, no regrets! It’s a short, sweet, sensitive film. My fans can’t let me down – they have to go in droves to see this one. Sudhir Mishra is marvellous!”
Time is the critical factor, given the fact that Kareena is booked up for ‘eternity’! She adds with grim humour, “You know, considering that I’ve delivered just one hit in my entire career ( Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai ), it’s amazing how the country’s most respected
filmmakers still want me in their films!”
Equilibrium is the word, as the girl-woman strives to balance the board with projects like Dev with Amitabh Bachchan and Fardeen Khan, Chameli opposite Rahul Bose, Mani Rathnam’s Yuva , Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani , Dharmesh Darshan’s Bewafa , Rituparno Ghosh’s next opus, JP Dutta’s L.O.C , Abbas-Mustan’s Aitraaz and Ken Ghosh’s film co-starring Shahid Kapur. Undoubtedly, this is the new phase in Kareena’s life, merging the offbeat with the mainstream.
However the last year wasn’t as kind to Kareena, who found the media suddenly assuming monstrous proportions. “They pulled me down every which way they could, they wrote about me, wrote me off, slighted me, misunderstood me… I had to shout from the rooftops that the characters I played on screen were arrogant, but that wasn’t me. Every flop of mine was held up in ghoulish delight. For heaven’s sake, I have a right to make bad films, to make mistakes!” she exclaims.
She looks around and says abruptly, “Look at this box of a make-up van. This is where an actor spends most of his time – waiting, preparing for those fleeting moments before the camera… It’s a kind of weird existence at one level. I don’t even know what it is to lead a normal life like a normal 23-year-old! But I do it because I’m a die-hard filmi! Even at 80 I’ll be calling up theatres and checking on collections… I love it so much, I don’t want to break out of the box!” And so there is a calm of sorts, a growing understanding of her own potential. It also helps her keep her head amidst the inevitable bitching of her co-stars. Like she puts it, “If it makes other actresses happy to crib about me, so be it!” Rumours about her alleged romance with heartthrob Hrithik Roshan have also left her unaffected: “As long as his family knows the rumours are untrue, it’s fine with me! And contrary to expectations, I will definitely sign another film with him, if the role is good!”
But the actor she is dying to work with is Shah Rukh Khan, who in her words, “…is the only man to make me go weak in the knees! I just buckle under when I look at him, gosh, I can’t handle it!” She giggles, and for a minute, looks like a 15-year-old, carefree and spontaneous, until it is time for the next shot, and she sobers, her face growing complex.
“I’ve always been emotionally insecure,” she says quietly, adding, “I crave affection, trust very easily. I need my mom to give me a reality check.” Just the mention of her mother is enough to make Kareena light up. “How can it be any other way? From the time I can remember, it’s just been three of us in the house – three high-strung, volatile women at that!” A self-reliant woman with tremendous fighting spirit, Babita has always been an icon to her two daughters. “Oh, we’ve been through tough times,” says Kareena softly. “There’s a light in all three of us and it was lit by life and circumstances. I have this half-forgotten memory of how my mother was once short of money for our ritual Sunday lunch at the Oberoi. I must have been about 5 then. And she gathered all the stuff she could sell, including old newspapers, etc, and we triumphantly sailed forth for our grand Sunday lunch! From then till now, it’s been a success story, and it all began with my mother’s grit and strength. That’s why I’m so proud to have made her dreams for me come true…” she trails off
