How then does Kareena do in this feature-length showreel? Impressively well. Ever a strong actress, she takes the opportunity to emote her guts out, but has been given far too large and unexciting a stage. She wails and moans and grumbles and huffs and pouts and sticks out her hip and uses those insanely captivating eyes to tremendous effect.
Kapoor acquits herself admirably and while the performance is overtly showy, it's more than most of her peers can do.
Unfortunately the sheer mediocrity surrounding her -- with everyone in spoof mode, especially the dialogue writers -- never lets us feel for her character in what turns out to be a grotesquely long film.
We do, thus, feel for Kareena herself. But that was never the point.
- Raja Sen
The film could easily be written off but for Kareena's performance. As the bi-polar, erratic, insecure and vulnerable fading star, Kareena gives a superb performance. She looks beautiful, glamorous and makes Mahi her own. In fact, some of the incidents seem to be lifted straight out of Kareena's life (yes, there is an MMS scandal as well). Kareena, who has for a long time been used as a glamour quotient in Rs 100 crore films, gets a meaty role and gives it her best shot. Some of the scenes in the film, although a bit unnecessary, need courage to be enacted and it comes as a surprise when a hard-core commercial actress like Kareena agrees to do such scenes. And then, does them so convincingly. 2 for the film and one extra one for Bebo. Three cheers for the film!
- Zee News
As star Mahi Arora, Kareena Kapoor drinks and swears like a sailor, and is more tantrum-prone than a fussy toddler. But she does it all with gut-wrenching vulnerability.
- Gulfnews
HEROINE is Kareena's film all the way and she delivers an award-worthy performance. It can be said without a shred of doubt, HEROINE is her most valiant effort so far. Apparently motivated by real-life episodes, this is a role not many actresses would have taken the peril of implementing. Kareena arrests the viewer's attention from Scene A to Z. The triumph and disappointment, the innocence and conceit', every emotion, every sentiment is projected with sheer brilliancy.
- Taran Adarsh
Kareena Kapoor in the best performance of her career so far, leads Mahi's character through the murky labyrinth of ambition, rivalry and self-destructive tricks of survival in the rat race. Though her character is inconsistent (suffering, we are told, from bipolar disorder'.or is it just the writer's vagaries?) Kareena furnishes the heroine's character with a rare vulnerability and an exceptional inner life. In the film's rawest moments when the star's mask peels off completely, Kareena's face shows that stricken expression of naked panic and abject solitude that one last saw in the performance of Tabu in Mira Nair's The Namesake after her husband's sudden death.
Stardom kills you bit by bit. Kareena bravely undertakes Mahi Khanna's perilous journey from the top to the bottom of the star-ladder. This is Kareena's most fearless performance to date. Interestingly this is the second film in three weeks where a desperate falling star resorts to the dirtiest of measures to retrieve her stardom.
- Subhash K Jha
Kareena Kapoor as Mahi Arora is a scene stealer of sorts. She is bitchy, she is feminine, she is fetchy, she is glamorous and gossipy. That's the true signs of what we call a 'Heroine' With such lucidity and clarity in her maneuvers, Heroine regales on her performance and how! She essays the role with aplomb and carries herself with the much needed panache. Graceful and elegant, 'Heroine' is an out and out Kareena Kapoor masterpiece which has Blockbuster stamped on it. A dream role of sorts for the actress, she fits into the shoes of the character almost instantly and there's not a single frame where you can catch a hoax in her on screen portrayal. Her evolution as an actress, the complete metamorphosis that she has undergone is extremely bewitching. From films like Ra.One, Bodyguard and Agent vinod where this talented actress is just reduced to a mere eye candy, she soars high like an eagle and does much more than just looking good. A pinch on all her critics and a silent 'Shut Up' to most of her contemporaries, Kareena walks away with the cake in this really engrossing flick. Her emotional drives, her bitchy lines, and argumentative stances turns her insecurity into an obsession.
- Oye Times
And the last reason to see Heroine, if at all, is Kareena Kapoor. She is near-flawless, achieving mood swings spontaneously. The screenplay makes her out to be a victim of the Bollywood system, but the manner in which she plays it ' with her body language and eyes ' she's to be saluted, not pitied. It's a brave, tour de force performance.
Heroine is worth a ticket just for Kareena Kapoor. Along with Jab We Met it's a tie for her career-best.
- Khalid Mohammad
but kudos to Kareena Kapoor for bringing out the complexities of the character, her insecurities, her vanity, her vulnerability, her arrogance and her eventual devastation despite an imperfect character sketch by the writers. It's a role tailor-made to add a few more awards to her shelf, but may go unnoticed and unrewarded for the hash Heroine is. Watch Heroine for Kareena Kapoor if you must.
- ApunKaChoice
In terms of her acting prowess, Kareena has dominated the screen. Her performances in each phase as a heroine are unforgettable - from a most happening actress, a lovelorn lady to a fading star and the epiphany of what she lost in her frantic pursuit for fame.Needless to say, Kareena rocks and sizzles in "Halkat Jawani."
- IB Times
My heart goes out to Kareena Kapoor, who carries the film on her solitary shoulders. She looks ethereal and makes the most of whatever has been offered to her in terms of her character. She brings depth to the role of a moody and emotionally unstable fading star. Some scenes are over the top and that affects her performance too. But Kareena especially shines in some scenes ' when she is completely down and out and just nods in agreement to her manager, when she comes face to face with her ex-boyfriend and when she watches the TV to find out whether her publicity stunt has worked. But a clichd script, some clumsy dialogues (by Niranjan Iyengar) and naive direction let her down.
- Bollywoodlife
Kareena Kapoor has given an award-winning performance
When the screenplay focusses totally on one character, its a great risk. If the audience's attention slips even once from the main protagonist's life story, the film narrative starts taking a plunge. There are scores and scores of films which focussed on its main character and the audience didn't quite identify with him or her. History says that these films never recovered -- either at the climax or at the box office. But Kareena Kapoor has ensured that this doesn't happen.
Half an hour into 'Heroine' and you realise that it is an out-an-out Kareena Kapoor film. And Kareena Kapoor is simply outstanding! In every shot, Kareena has outdone herself and excelled as an actor. In fact, we were watching the film much too closely to point out a single scene where Kareena might have gone wrong, No, she didn't. The director went left, the screenplay went south but the lead actress took the right turn every time.
Back-to-back the two cousins - Ranbir and Kareena - have given performances of their lifetimes. They both have proved that they are worthy flag-bearers of the Kapoor khandaan. But my dear audience, you must watch out for a different contest this year. It will be interesting to see who will sweep the award functions this year for the 'Best Actress' award -- Kareena Kapoor for 'Heroine' or Priyanka Chopra for 'Barfi'. Both have equally strong lobbies and both have equal number of powerful friends in the film industry. We, along with you, will be watching the contest keenly for sure.
But for now, Kareena should get a standing ovation for doing every scene perfectly and for an absolutely brilliant and gutsy performance. No words are enough to describe the hard work that she has put in. In fact, the film is being rated 3 stars just for her performance. Otherwise this film would have walked out with just two stars at best.
- Soumyadipta Banerjee
