Kareena gets breathless for the 3 Idiots

By Subhash K Jha

If you saw Kareena Kapoor getting breathless during her Ladakh schedule which ended on Monday this week, it wasn't because of her excitement level.

It was something far more immediate..and scary.

The unit of Raj Kumar Hirani's 3 Idiots shot at the Pangong Lake in Ladakh which is 13, 900 feet above sea level. Often tourists who go up there are known to complain of breathlessness due to the lack of oxygen.

And so it was for Kareena, Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi who scaled new heights of derringdo without any casualty, though many people are known to collapse for lack of oxygen at the place where Kareena, the only female member of the cast, shot.

Says Kareena, "We had little oxygen, no electricity and no hot water. On top of that I was in a wedding ghagra-choli outfit in that freezing cold, can you imagine! The wind almost swept me off my feet."

To protect herself from the freezing cold Kareena wore thermal heating along with her outfit. "But that was of very little help. Finally the unbearable cold was all worth it for a wonderful film. The boys (Kareena means Aamir and Madhavan) were great fun.And Raju Hirani is a gem."

And now from freezing cold Kareena has suddenly gone into the simmering heat of monsoon-less Delhi. The sharp contrast in the weather has taken its toll on Kareena's health.

Compounding her woes is the fact that she is in Delhi in time for her sister Karisma's birthday on June 25. But Karisma is out of the country.

"Can you believe it? My bad luck I guess, " sighs Kareena.