Kareena's Journey in Bollywood
Kareena was initially scheduled to make her debut in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (2000), opposite the director's son Hrithik Roshan. However, several days into the filming, she abandoned the project.
She made her debut later that year in J.P. Dutta's war drama Refugee. kareena played Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in love with Refugee while illegally migrating to Pakistan. Her debut performance was acclaimed by critics. Refugee was the fifth-highest grossing film in India in 2000, and Kareena's performance earned her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award.