Bebo's big boutique budget!
She's been tagged as the Heroine, and now Bebo gets a designer wardrobe to match!
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She's been tagged as the Heroine, and now Bebo gets a designer wardrobe to match!
According to the latest spin off from the rumour mill, Kareena Kapoor has reportedly been given a whopping Rs 1.2 crore budget for the upcoming Madhur Bhandarkar film.
And if that little tidbit is true, this budget benefactor will most likely be top designer Manish Malhotra, who is said to be creating 130 custom-made creations for Heroine Bebo.
Whether the big budget will be worth it, remains to be seen. Till then, here are 31 reasons why Kareena's simply fabulous! -
Recently crowned "The 100 crores actress" for her ability to make any new film a certified blockbuster, Kareena Kapoor is on a roll of a lifetime.
With successive hits in 3 Idiots, Golmaal 3 and now Bodyguard, each of which crossed Rs. 100 crores at the box office, she is undoubtedly the new Queen of Bollywood. -
The new millenium brought with it another Big Bang; Kareena Kapoor burst onto the scene with insane fanfare and hype. After all, being the Karisma Kapur's younger sister and with the entire Kapoor lineage to back her up, it would've been surprising otherwise.
JP Dutta's Refugee was probably the biggest launch pad Indian cinema would see for a while; starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek and the Kapoor family's youngest daughter, Kareena, it was ladened with great expectations.
Kareena played a young, Pakistani refugee who falls in love with Abhishek's character, with their sizzling chemistry quite apparent.
The film was a moderate success, though both the leads came under their fare share of criticism. Some called them wooden, others uninspiring. However, everybody admitted that given time, they would both prove their mettle. -
The very next year, Kareena was seen in five huge films, almost all of which were blockbusters.
She kicked off 2001 with Satish Kaushik's Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai, opposite Tusshar Kapoor, who was making his debut.
The film was a stupendous success, well liked for its dramatic love story, which portrayed Tusshar's character as an obssesive lover. -
With Abbas-Mustan's Ajnabee, Kareena kickstarted an association that would last her for years to come.
A taut thriller, Ajnabee paired her opposite Bobby Deol. The film, a remake of the Hollywood film Consenting Adults, also starred Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu. -
Her first pairing with reigning superstar Shah Rukh Khan was a raging success. In one of Bollywood's precious few period films, she played famed King Ashoka's (Shah Rukh Khan) lover, Kaurwaki.
Directed by ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan, the film was criticized for the way it portrayed King Ashoka; most people felt there was too much emphasis on Kaurwaki's role in converting him to Buddhism. They also felt that glamourising Kaurwaki, who was actually a fisherwoman, sought to mess with historical fact.
However, the intense battle scenes and epic cinematography were lauded by one and all. -
She ended the year with Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (K3G), his follow-up to to his debut blockbuster, Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai.
K3G starred Karan Johar's favourite, Shah Rukh Khan, along with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Kajol. The starcast alone was enough to reign in the audience.
This modernised family drama worked wonders for Kareena's image, allowing her to showcase a wide range of emotion--she played an eternally bubbly girl called "Poo" (a name and character now synonymous with her) who falls madly in love with Hrithik's character. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is counted amongst the biggest hits of all time. -
The following year, she was cast in Sooraj Barjatya's highly anticipated return to direction, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. This time, she was paired not only opposite Hrithik Roshan, but also with her fellow Refugee-debutant, Abhishek Bachchan.
The audience, of course, was expecting Barjatya's familiar family flicks, something along the lines of his Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Maine Pyaar Kiya; candyfloss entertainment for the whole family.
What they got was something entirely different--a mature love story about betrayal and sacrifice, a story and style that just didn't gel with Barjatya's own leanings.
Once again, Kareena had starred in a huge flop. -
2004 brought with it a respite from the continuous flopshows.
Sudhir Mishra's Chameli, where she played a prostitute, earned her a lot of applause from all quarters; her bold portrayal which was somehow enticing and vulnerable at the same time, won her the Filmfare Award for Special Performance.
Two songs, in particular, have continued to stay in the public mind; Bhaage re mann and Sajna ve sajna had a certain undying resonance. Picturised on Kareena, they became timeless. -
Mani Ratnam then cast her in his return to Bollywood, Yuva, where she was paired opposite Vivek Oberoi. She played an NRI who falls in love with Vivek's brash, spoilt character.
Yuva also starred Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Rani Mukerji in pivotal roles, making it one of the bigger successes of the year. -
In Govind Nihalani's Dev, that year, she went completely de-glam for her role. Seen without make-up, she hardly looked like herself, letting her fit completely into her role.
Paired opposite Fardeen Khan, she played the role of a conservative young girl called Aalyn, whose transformation through the film enables her to stand up for the truth.
She was rewarded for her pitch perfect performance with a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. -
Ken Ghosh directed her next film, Fida, her first film with then-boyfriend Shahid Kapoor.
Fida, a love story with a twist, also starred Fardeen Khan as the film's parallel lead. Her intimate scenes with him apparently created cracks in her relationship with Shahid, something that was covered extensively by the media at the time.
The film was critically lauded but ended up being a commercial failure. -
She was once again seen with Akshay Kumar in Abbas-Mustan's Aitraaz, a remake of the Michael Douglas-Demi Moore starrer, Disclosure.
While Priyanka Chopra stole the show with her wildly sexy act, it was Kareena who was noticed for her subtle performance as Akshay Kumar's lawyer wife, the one who helps him out of his crazy predicament. The film was a stupendous success. -
She rounded off 2004 with her first venture into comedy, Hulchul.
Priyadarshan's last major hit starred Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal and a bunch of other character actors in a one-of-its-kind dramedy.
Khanna and Kareena play scions of two warring families who end up falling in love in spite of themselves. The film deals with their efforts to reconcile the two khandaans without exposing their own relationship. -
Kareena won't quite forget 2006, one of the only years where every single one of her films was a hit.
She kicked it off with 36 China Town, once again opposite then-boyfriend Shahid Kapoor, one of the main reasons audiences flocked to the theatres.
Himesh Reshammiya's music only added to the charm and 36 China Town, a comedic thriller, was declared an average hit. -
Vishal Bharadwaj surprised everybody with Omkara, that year. Based on William Shakespeare's classic play, Othello, the film was one of the biggest hits of the year.
Kareena played Dolly (or Desdemona from the play), who was Omkara's (Ajay Devgn) love interest. Their particular story earned huge praise from critics and audiences alike, catapulting it to the top of the box office. The film also starred her future boyfriend, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Konkona Sen Sharma. -
She rounded off 2006 with Farhan Akhtar's Don: The Chase Begins Again, starring Shah Rukh Khan as the new Don. In this remake of Amitabh Bachchan's Don, Kareena, who had a special appearance, played the role originally essayed by Helen.
Her version of Helen's ultra-popular Yeh mera dil received mixed reviews, however, with some people feeling the original should have remained untouched.
Still, she looked spectacularly hot in the song, which went on to top musical charts nationwide. -
Kareena left her mark on the genre of Romance with Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met.
Technically her last film with now ex-boyfriend Shahid Kapoor, she played the bubbly, cheerful, super-talkative Geet. Kareena infused life into Geet's character, quite possibly her most famous role yet.
The erstwhile couple shared a crackling chemistry under Imtiaz's deft direction; along with Pritam's perfect music, their pairing was the film's greatest strength.
Jab We Met took more than a year to film and then subsequently release, by which time she was already shooting for her next film, Tashan. It was on this film's sets that she met and fell in love with Saif Ali Khan, breaking up with Shahid Kapoor while he was filming in Canada.
Saif and Kareena announced their relationship right before Jab We Met released, making everybody think it was some sort of a publicity stunt. But when the rumours were proven false, it inadvertently did become one, with the audience clamouring to see Shahid and Kareena together one last time. -
The next year, she was seen with her now-current boyfriend Saif Ali Khan in Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan, produced by Karan Johar.
A love story revolving around terrorism and racism, it was one of Karan Johar's first few commercial failures.
For Kareena, who had already starred in the disappointing Kambakkht Ishq and Main Aur Mrs Khanna earlier in the year, this was one more flop she just didn't need. -
However, she more than made up for it with 3 Idiots. Raj Kumar Hirani's supremely successful film.
Kareena, who is a self-confessed Aamir Khan fan, was jubilant to be paired with the superstar.
3 Idiots was a cool, smart comedy that mocked the Indian education system. It was, however, presented as a tale of undying friendship, loyalty and love, something which won the audience in gargantuan numbers. Made on a budget of nearly Rs. 35 crores, 3 Idiots has grossed more than Rs. 339 crores to date.
At the time of its release, it was India's biggest hit, surpassing even Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. -
After passable outings in Milenge Milenge (her final film with Shahid Kapoor--it was delayed for years, apparently because Kareena refused to dub with her ex-beau) and We Are Family, she returned to her winning ways with Golmaal 3.
Rohit Shetty's third film in the Golmaal series crossed the Rs. 100 crores mark fluently, making producers chase after Kareena once again. -
This year, of course, is a gamechanger. Proving her detractors wrong once again, she opened 2011 with Siddique's Bodyguard, another one of her Rs. 100 crores-plus ventures.
Next up is Shah Rukh Khan's RA.One, where her midriff-baring Chammak Challo item number is grabbing eyeballs and ears alike--the song is a perfect mix of sultry Kareena and sensational Akon (who has voiced it). Her look in the film is one of the main reasons the hype is huge. -
Madhur Bhandarkar is now more in the news for the resurrection of his seven-year-old rape case, but up until even last month he was all about Heroine.
His magnum opus centres around an actress who rises to the top of the film industry, only to fall heavily down. Titled Heroine, the big-budget film was under production for a while with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the title role. The film was stopped when Aishwarya announced her pregnancy.
Since Madhur required Ash to shoot some intimate scenes and wouldn't compromise on his creativity, the producers decided it was best to halt the film rather than truck it through a change.
However, it is commonly known that Kareena was first offered the role but wanted Madhur to tone down the love scenes. When Ash backed out, Madhur once again returned to Kareena, who agreed this time, with a rider attached: she will reportedly be paid Rs. 6 crores with an additional peck into Heroine's profits.
This, of course, is the first time a mainstream actress gets a cut of the profits; Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and AR Rahman are some of the celebrities who follow this trend. -
She also has the Karan Johar produced Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu in her kitty, where she is paired opposite Aamir's nephew Imran Khan for the first time. The film was originally titled Short Term Shaadi, for those of you confused.
Here's wishing the actress a very happy birthday and a wonderful life ahead.
