Kareena, begum-to-be and Heroine at 32

Reportedly soon to marry longtime beau Saif Ali Khan, the usually glamourous Kareena Kapoor was recently spotted at the Mumbai Airport in an oversized T-shirt as she tried to walk away from the paparazzi.

Photo: Mid-Day.com

Kareena Kapoor celebrates her 32nd birthday with the greatest gift a Bollywood leading lady could ask for – the role of a lifetime in her much anticipated film, Heroine which releases today. Kareena plays the role of Mahi Arora, a fading superstar. In a recent interview to NDTV, the actress said that it is her bravest role to date and Kareena feels she "challenged herself to the limits".

The actress was also seen holding her belly. Now what is going on?

Coming up: Kareena at the Filmfare Awards

Photo: Mid-Day.com

After years of will they-won't they, Kareena and Saif Ali Khan finally put speculation to rest by announcing wedding plans during the release of Agent Vinod in March. While wild guesses were made about an October or December wedding, Saif's mother Sharmila Tagore has reportedly sent out wedding invites which set the date as October 18. But Bebo remains tight-lipped on the issue but has said that she will tack on Saif's surname to her own. Which means that Kareena will soon be the proud owner of two of Bollywood's most famous surnames – Kapoor and Khan.

Kareena at the Filmfare Awards

Post the release of Heroine on September 21, her next big venture will be Talaash alongside Aamir Khan, which is expected to release on November 30.

Kareena, who is also referred to as Bebo, is the granddaughter of legendary Raj Kapoor. She is the youngest daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita and sister of actress Karisma Kapur. The Kapoor family also include several other actors - her great-grandfather Prithviraj, grand-uncles Shammi and Shashi, uncles Rishi and Rajiv, aunt-by-marriage Neetu, and cousin Ranbir. Grand-uncle Shammi was once married to actress Gita Bali, and grand-uncle Shashi's wife Jennifer was a theatre and film actress of repute.

Last year Kareena was spotted with Saif Ali Khan and his family watching a Polo match.

Coming up: Milestones for Saif-Kareena

It was milestone time recently for both Kareena and Saif and needless to say that both were keeping extremely busy.

While Saif is said be overworked with his home-production Agent Vinod, Kareena flew to London to unveil her wax statue at the Madame Tussauds museum.

"It is an honour and a privilege for me to have my own wax figure at Madame Tussauds, Blackpool, and even more so to launch a global Bollywood exhibition. This is a moment of pride for the Indian cinema," she said on the occasion.

Coming Up: Kareena's life in pics…

As children, both Kareena and Karisma dreamed of becoming actresses. However, the Kapoor women traditionally did not act. Mother Babita and aunt Neetu had both quit their acting careers after getting married. But Babita supported her daughters' cinematic dreams, leading to conflict between her and Randhir Kapoor. In the end, she won a victory in the male bastion of Bollywood's first family. Karisma became the first Kapoor actress, followed by sister Kareena.

Bebo attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai before progressing to Welham Girls Boarding School in Dehradun. She studied commerce for two years at the Mithibai College. However, she disliked it there and studied only because she was close to her family. Kareena then registered for a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard University in the United States. She later developed an interest in law and enrolled at the Government Law College in Churchgate. However, after completing one year at Churchgate, Kareena returned to her initial plan of becoming an actress.

Kareena made her debut opposite Abhishek Bachchan in JP Dutta's Refugee in 2000. Though the film wasn't a huge commercial success it earned her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and she was hailed by critics as an emerging star.

Next came Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001) opposite Tusshar Kapoor. The film became one of the highest earners of the year. Kareena was lauded for her performance. The same year brought with it Santosh Sivan's epic Asoka, opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival that year. Her performance received mixed reactions from critics but Kareena received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards.

Her last release of 2001 was Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was a huge commercial success. Kareena's performance as "Poo" was well-received by critics and got her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Kareena featured in six films in 2002-03 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 were commercial failures.

The year 2004 marked the beginning of a new era for Bebo. She dared to play the role of a prostitute in Sudhir Mishra's Chameli at a very early stage in her career. Kareena's performance was well-received by critics and she received the Filmfare Special Performance Award that year.

Then came Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed film Dev, which was based on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The film earned her a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

The pretty actress was next seen in Subhash Ghai's family drama Yaadein alongside Hrithik Roshan. The film was a failure at the box office.

In 2004, Kareena began dating actor Shahid Kapoor with whom she eventually parted with during the filming of Jab We Met in 2007. The actress reportedly jettisoned Shahid to be with Saif Ali Khan.

Kareena and Saif became the 'it' couple of Bollywood. They were referred to as 'Saifeena' and were Bollywood's equivalent of 'Brangelina' and did not shy away from wearing their hearts on their sleeves.

Kareena then worked in the Abbas-Mustan thriller Ajnabee (2001), which was based on Consenting Adults (1992). The film was a moderate success.

In 2006, came Omkara, Vishal Bharadwaj's Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. The film saw Kareena play the Shakespearean character of Desdemona. The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for screening at the Cairo International Film Festival. Kareena's performance was critically acclaimed, earning her a fourth Filmfare Award.

Kareena herself considered her role in Omkara a "new benchmark" in her career.

The same year came Santosh Sivan's epic Asoka, opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival that year. Her performance received mixed reactions from critics. Despite all this Kareena received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards.

The actress came back as Geet Dhillon with ex-beau Shahid Kapur in Jab We Met (2007). The film was received favourably by critics and became one of the year's most successful films. Kareena won several awards for her performance, including a Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Kareena was once again paired opposite Tusshar Kapoor in Jeena Sirf Mere Liye which failed miserably at the box office.

In 2009, 3 Idiots co-starring Aamir Khan became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. The movie also earned her Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Kareena said it was "a dream come true" to have worked with Aamir.

Kareena's weight and diet have often come under scrutiny by the media. In 2006, Kareena declared that she was becoming a vegetarian to keep her weight in check. Kareena has denied rumours that she is suffering from anorexia, despite an on-set collapse during the filming of Tashan, and has attributed her weight loss to yoga. She became irrevocably associated with the term size zero and watching Kareena's weight became a national obsession of sorts, with brands like Sony rushing to cash in.

In 2011, Kareena was seen in RA.One and Bodyguard which were blockbuster hits.

Her first release in 2012, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, co-starring Imran Khan was well received, but her much anticipated spy thriller movie with beau Saif Agent Vinod was a box office failure.

Shortly after that, Kareena was for the first time cast in a negative role in Fida (opposite her then boyfriend Shahid Kapur). Kareena received positive reviews for her performance.

Kareena has also had her share of controversies and was caught liplocking with Shahid in an MMS clip. The MMS became one of the most talked about topics in the media.

We wish the Heroine a very happy birthday.

Her subsequent releases in 2004 included Abbas-Mustan's moderately successful thriller Aitraaz, where she played the role of Akshay Kumar's lawyer wife. Next was Hulchul, her first box office success after 2002.

In 2005, she was seen in Dharmesh Darshan's Bewafaa, opposite Anil Kapoor and Akshay Kumar. Her performance was also not very well-received. She was then seen in 36 China Town, Chup Chup Ke both came in 2006.

Kareena then did her first item number in Farhan Akhtar's remake hit film Don. The actress danced on the tunes of famous song Ye mera Dil that was originally picturised on dancing legend Helen. She receieved a lot of flak for her figure and according to Bebo this was the turning point when she decided to go slim.

Following Jab We Met, Kareena featured opposite Akshay Kumar and beau Saif Ali Khan in Tashan (2008), which was a complete disaster.

Kareena also lent her voice for the character of Laila, in the Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Pictures animated film Roadside Romeo. Kareena was next seen in Rohit Shetty's comedy Golmaal Returns, the sequel to 2006 hit film Golmaal. Golmaal Returns was a major box office hit.

In 2009, Kareena was seen in Sabbir Khan's Kambakkht Ishq opposite Akshay Kumar. The film got negative reviews and Kareena's performance was not well-received.

In 2009, Kareena was seen romancing Salman Khan in Main Aur Mrs Khanna, the movie failed to impress audience and Kareena went on to say that she had done this film for her sister Karisma and that Salman was a very dear friend of hers.

Kareena played the role originally essayed by Julia Roberts in the hit Hollywood flick Stepmom.

Kareena, who was recently seen in RA.One and Boduguard, is all set for the release of beau Saif's home production Agent Vinod and has also begun shooting for the much talked about Heroine.

Kareena's first release in 2012 will be Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu co-starring Imran Khan.