Fondly
referred to as Bebo, Kareena Kapoor, has literally made her way into
the heart of millions of fans through the different characters she has
portrayed in her films over the years. 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
Kapoor's performance earned her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award.
Kareena's
next was in 2001, the romantic drama Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, which
became one of the highest earners of the year. However, subsequent
releases such as Yaadein and Ajnabee were both critical and commercial
failures. Later in the year, she starred in Santosh Sivan's period epic
Asoka, a partly fictionalized account of the life of Ashoka the Great.
The film had a strong release in the United Kingdom and North America,
and was screened at the Venice Film Festival and the 2001 Toronto
International Film Festival. Featured opposite Shahrukh Khan who played
Ashoka, Kareena portrayed the character of Kaurwaki, a princess of
Kalinga with whom Ashoka falls in love. While the film received
generally positive reviews, Kareena's performance received a mixed
reaction from some critics. Nonetheless, her performance was praised by
some critics and earned her a first nomination for Best Actress at the
Filmfare Awards.
Kareena's
final release of 2001 was the drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, directed
by Karan Johar. The film, which featured an ensemble cast, emerged as
the second-highest-grossing film of the year in India and Kareena's
biggest commercial success, with a domestic total of Rs 490 million (US$
10.44 million). Her performance as 'Poo' was well received by critics,
and earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination. During
2002 and 2003, Kareena experienced a slump in her career. She featured
in six films ' Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, Talaash: The
Hunt Begins..., Khushi, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, and the four-hour war
epic LOC Kargil ' all of which proved critically and commercially
unsuccessful in India.
Following
the negative period in Kareena's career, 2004 marked the beginning of
her work in more serious films, most of which would bring her critical
acclaim rather than commercial success. Under the direction of Sudhir
Mishra, Kareena played a prostitute in Chameli opposite Rahul Bose.
Chameli received predominantly positive reviews and Kareena's
performance was generally well-received by critics, with the Indiatimes
praising Kareena's 'intuitive brilliance' and stating that she had
exceeded all expectations. Nonetheless, Kareena's performance garnered
her the Filmfare Special Performance Award and marked a change in
direction in her career as an actress.
Kareena
then appeared opposite Amitabh Bachchan and Fardeen Khan in Govind
Nihalani's critically acclaimed film Dev. Kareena's role was that of a
Muslim victim named Aaliya, modelled after Zahira Sheikh, a key witness
in Vadodara's Best Bakery case. The film earned her a Filmfare Critics
Award for Best Performance, as well as nominations for Best Actress at
various award ceremonies. In
2007, Kareena starred opposite Shahid Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali's romantic
comedy Jab We Met. Relating the story of two people with contrasting
personalities who meet on a train and eventually fall in love, Kareena
played the female protagonist Geet Dhillon, a vivacious Sikh girl with a
strong zest for life. The film was received favourably by critics and
became one of the year's most successful films, earning a domestic total
of Rs 303 million (US$ 6.45 million).
Kareena
won several awards for her performance, including a Filmfare Best
Actress Award and her second Star Screen Award for Best Actress. Rajeev
Masand from CNN-IBN noted, "Uninhibited and spontaneous, Kareena Kapoor
is the soul of this picture, its biggest strength, as she brings alive
her character with not just those smart lines, but with the kind of
candor actors seldom invest in their work." Thus Kareena Kapoor turned
out to be one of the top heroines in Bollywood.
Now she has big
banners tying to sign her and has been labeled as reigning queen of
Bollywood. We wish the Queen Bee all the best for her future!
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