Think of actor Kareena Kapoor Khan and either the glamorous Poo/Pooja from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham or the vivacious Geet from Jab We Met comes to mind. But for every Poo and Geet, there is also a Nazneen from Refugee, Dolly from Omkara, and Dr Tanvi Khurana from Kyun Ki. For many, the actor might be as ‘Bollywood’ as one gets, but Kareena has been silently building a balanced filmography for several years now without having the need to market herself as a ‘content-driven’ artist.
Kareena’s Jaane Jaan – her entry into OTT and her first release this year – is out today on her birthday. It is based on the bestseller The Devotion of Suspect X where Kareena plays Maya, a woman who has a lot to hide in her past and inhabits a world of intrigue and suspense. Post this, Kareena also has Hansal Mehta’s The Buckingham Murders in which she plays a detective. The actor had earlier confessed that she has been inspired by Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown for her performance. At the same time, she has an uber-stylish role in Rhea Kapoor’s production The Crew.
But while her back-t0-back de-glam roles can make the audience wonder if she is trying something ‘different’, Raj Kapoor’s grand-daughter has surprised us more than once with her choice of films.
Film critic and trade expert Taran Adarsh, observes that Kareena has also redefined herself over the years. He tells indianexpress.com, “She has been a good actor more than a glamorous face. She has always delivered as an actor but unfortunately you get labeled in the industry very fast because certain characters like Poo overpower her body of work and that’s what happens when you continue to do better and better films.”
He further says, “I think there is nothing wrong in being known as a glamorous actor, though Kareena has also always been known as a fine actress also. I don’t think it affects her in any way because an actor is an actor and people can come up with labels but it means nothing for a person who has spent so many decades as an actor.”
In a recent press conference for Jaane Jaan, Kareena said that her husband Saif Ali Khan advised her to gear up as she would be sharing screen with actors like Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat.
Kareena said: “Saif had already told me ‘Listen, it’s not like van se make up laga ke nikalogi aur set pe dialogue bologi. Stop this attitude. You are working with Jaideep and Vijay, be prepared. They would be improvising and all so you better be on your toes. It’s not like a picnic’.”
However, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, who directed her in 2012 film Heroine, explains that she has her own acting technique. Instead of rehearsing and preparing too much for her part, the actor relies on her instincts. That the actor “does less work but good quality work.”
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The National Award-winning filmmaker tells us, “Kareena knows her craft very well and that’s her USP. She has an inborn talent and she is very instinctive. She acts between action and cut. I know for a fact that she is not a person, who has to do a lot of rehearsals and workshops, which I have never done.”
He adds, “You just brief her, that this is what you want and she will look at you and observe and I find that confidence very amazing. In Heroine there was a lot of emotions and heavy-duty scenes for her role of Mahi Arora.”
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Besides Jaane Jaan, the actor will also be seen in Hansal Mehta’s next and Rhea Kapoor’s production The Crew. Currently, she is on a holiday with her family to celebrate the special day.
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