Kareena and Ash: Just Lucky?

Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are perfect examples of being famous for their flops. Kareena Kapoor has had it easy, literally.

Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are perfect examples of being famous for their flops. Kareena Kapoor has had it easy, literally. It hasn't exactly been a rough ride for the Kapoor babe from Day One itself. Even though she left the blockbuster role of female lead in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai against macho Hrithik Roshan to Ameesha Patel, she managed to garner much more publicity for her flop debut, Refugee, than what Ameesha did for her superhit starter. And that was the beginning of a new mantra to market a diva — hit or no hit, the Brand has to hit the headlines.

And it was this very marketing mantra which saw the rise, rise and only rise for Kareena Kapoor. Even after a spate of flops like Asoka, Yaadein, Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Jeena Sirf Tere Liya, Tashan etc the youngest Kapoor kid saw all the big names from Karan Johar to Yash Chopra to Mani Ratnam and Boney Kapoor vying for her attention. Film after film flopped, but nothing changed much for Bebo. She continued to demand very high rates, which paradoxically kept rising with each flop!

And following in her footsteps closely was none other than our very own grey-green eyed goddess, Aishwarya Rai who, in spite of not having given a single hit in the start of her career for very long hit the jackpot with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and is the most 'sought-after' Bollywood actress today.

So, this is the Bebo-Ash blockbuster story. What is it that makes the two divas eligible for the big league which otherwise has names like Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra who, by now, must have lost count of their hit films? "Both Ash and Bebo have class. I know them closely. They have talent as well as beauty, and I guess this combination is more than enough to please the audience. At the same time, one must not forget that Ash is a big international star," asserts Showman Subhash Ghai who has earlier directed Ash in Taal and has done as many as three films with Kareena.

Film critic Indu Mirani punches in a more logical explanation to this unique phenomenon. "I think Aishwarya and Kareena are totally different girls as far as personality and presentation go. But their careers are similar in the sense that they have got all the good stuff in spite of not having hit films. I think it's because there are very few actually hot leading ladies in the industry today. Rani, Preity and Priyanka cannot take up all the roles, right? There are very few A-grade heroines. And these two girls know how to present themselves. They are also very media-savvy and hence it has been easy for them," she says.

But why isn't it easy for other talented good-looking girls, too, as, say, Lara Dutta? Why hasn't she matched up to this grade? "Kareena, of course, is a pedigreed girl. She has been lucky as she belongs to the Kapoor Khaandaan. She also had her sister Karishma, a superstar in her own right. For Ash, I think it's more of media hype with her scintillating beauty helping in a big way," explains Mirani. And no one can forget the hypes she got throughout her career by attaching her name with Bolly-boys like Salman and Vivek and then by entering the Bachchan house by marrying junior B.

And if we throw back a look, this trend doesn't seem to be very new. There are examples in the past also where artistes, even though they hadn't given a single hit, had dozens of movies in their kitty. For example, in the 80s, the pinup girl of that time, Sonam, had close to 40 films in her kitty even before her first film was out for review! Similar was the case with Chunky Panday who, apart from Aankhen with Govinda, has no film to be remembered him by. But he was one of the hottest dial-a-quote stars of late 80s.

Production designer Bindiya Dutta, wife of filmmaker J P Dutta, and herself hyped as a Hema Malini clone in her heyday, has had the experience of working with Ash and Bebo; and sums it up, "For us, hits and flops are inconsequential. We are only here to do good work and definitely we choose our leading ladies according to what they suit best. Like Refugee wouldn't have been the same without Kareena and Umrao Jaan without Ash was unimaginable."

What a hit explanation! One can easily understand the need of branding whether it's in business world or the world of show-business.

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Posted by:	Indra D.
Copyright	Sampurn
Date	7/9/2008 11:12:54 AM
User Rating	(0 Votes)
Views	439

Interesting article. What do you guys think? Are Kareena and Ash so popular because they actually have talent or is it because Kareena has the Kapoor tag and Ash is known for her beauty?

Hmmm......good article!!! 👏
But I think they are not Just Lucky......they have the talent and the beauty....thats why they are the most sought after actors in Bollywood!|

I think the explanation part of the article is right...but the title....is very very wrong!
😊
Aishwarya and Kareena have worked very hard....warna aisi hi koi star nahi banta! 😊

Originally posted by: Leo

Hmmm......good article!!! 👏
But I think they are not Just Lucky......they have the talent and the beauty....thats why they are the most sought after actors in Bollywood!|

I think the explanation part of the article is right...but the title....is very very wrong!
😊
Aishwarya and Kareena have worked very hard....warna aisi hi koi star nahi banta! 😊

I agree with you. They both have beauty and talent. But you know that there are so many haters out there who love to say that Kareena is successful only because she is a Kapoor or because she is Karisma's sister. Of course, the reason that she got so many good offers in the beginning was because she is a Kapoor. But after that, she did have to struggle because there were so many people who doubted her and she acted in some very lame films.

But she has persevered through all of that, and has become a very good actress over the years. Sure, being a star daughter or son or being a beauty pageant winner helps you step foot into bollywood, but you must have talent to sustain yourself in the industry. If this was not the case and having a "brand" was all that one needed to be a star, then people like Tushar Kapoor, Esha Deol, and Diya Mirza would be superstars right now!

Ash has manipulated the media in a very clever way, her moves "seemed" to be very well planned, i can start on this but i don't want another heated argument from Ash Fans, shes a complete directors actress, only then is she able to preform. After devdas alot of people said yes Ash has ONCE AGAIN ARRIVED and is an actress, but she proved everyone wrong when DIL KA RISHTA released, and then Kyun Ho Gaya? Her eyes, though beautiful, are not as expressive. And now everyone knows why shes constantly in the news, because shes a Bachchan Bahu.

kareenas negative publicity worked for her because no other actress was doing what she was, in terms of talking about other actresses, but she has gradually progressed into a talented actress, where its possible to look beyond her beauty and motor mouth and actually appreciate her work. Even though shes from the kapoor khandaan i don't think shes had it easy, she was literally on a down spiral in her career before Jab we Met came along. if you can recall the media was starting to say shes out of business and is now only limited to item numbers.
So YES Kareena HAS worked Hard, and wether things are negative OR Positive it seems to work for her...LUCK?

Child artists do have it easy though, in terms of GETTING INTO THE INDUSTRY, but then at the end of the day its your talent that speaks and gives the status. Abhishek is a great example, and kareena.

Originally posted by: Leo

Hmmm......good article!!! 👏
But I think they are not Just Lucky......they have the talent and the beauty....thats why they are the most sought after actors in Bollywood!|

I think the explanation part of the article is right...but the title....is very very wrong!
😊
Aishwarya and Kareena have worked very hard....warna aisi hi koi star nahi banta! 😊

yah i agree with u

love,

roshni

ash has been just lucky
but kareena has talent and worked hard

(please ash fans disregard my comment i no uall gonna get all hyper and junk) 😆

thx 4 d artilce tats so true they both worked hard

Originally posted by: pragatis_1234

ash has been just lucky
but kareena has talent and worked hard

(please ash fans disregard my comment i no uall gonna get all hyper and junk) 😆

Uh oh... I'm not sure you know what you have started, lol! Pretty soon you are going to have some overzealous Ash fans in here breathing fire! hehe

I can't say that I disagree with you about Ash though. I think she is a director's actress. I didn't like her in Devdas, I thought her performance was way overdone. I did like her in HDDCS, but considering how she performed in films like KHGN and Dil ka Rishta to name a few, I give alot of the credit for Ash's performance in HDDCS to SLB.

Agree with you 100% about Kareena not so sure about Ash.

Originally posted by: pragatis_1234

ash has been just lucky
but kareena has talent and worked hard

(please ash fans disregard my comment i no uall gonna get all hyper and junk) 😆

Iagree completly, to me ash has no acting talent what so ever, but she has beauty and luck. Kareena i feel deserves it, she is a verygood actress, even though she isnt the nicest looking..