Kareena Kapoor Khan has completed 25 years in Bollywood. She has a movie, The Buckingham Murder, and an ongoing film festival to her name. It is absolutely fitting that the actor, known for being unapologetic to the core about life and career choices, has the honour of being the first female actor in India to have an entire film festival dedicated to her.
Kareena has been a trendsetter, from her iconic role as Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) to her role as a murder suspect in her OTT debut with Netflix’s Jaane Jaan (2023).
She carved her own niche, and in times when heroines, even big stars, fell off the grid over Bollywood’s infamous relationship with ageism, Kareena continued to flourish.
She has also been very clear about her priorities. In an interview, she mentioned why she has not opted for a global career, unlike her contemporary Priyanka Chopra.
“I think it’s amazing what Priyanka has done. But I don’t think I could ever do something like that. I want to be a married working woman. My responsibilities are a lot more different than hers,” she said in an interview.
But she was always self-reflexive. “The kind of work that these girls have put in, you need to have that kind of dedication of wanting to achieve so much and do it so wonderfully. Also, maybe I’m lazy. I don’t want to conquer the world but I don’t mind having a little place of my own. It’s as simple as that,” she added.
And there is nothing wrong with wanting a certain kind of personal life, despite having a career. She is owning her age, doing the films she wants, and living her best life.
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Bollywood’s trendsetter
Kareena Kapoor Khan made it trendy for pregnant female actors to step out in the final few months. Earlier, female actors would discreetly disappear from public view altogether. But when Kareena was pregnant in 2016, she made public appearances and was even dubbed the Glamour Diva of the Year at the Lux Golden Rose Awards. She was dressed in a long red gown at the event.
From thigh-high slits for a birthday celebration to red carpet appearances, the actor made pregnancy fashionable and normal. Post that, actors like Anushka Sharma, Alia Bhatt, and Deepika Padukone also flaunted their baby bumps in stylish outfits and attended various events.
Even Priyanka Chopra, once seen as her ‘rival’, acknowledged that Kareena’s maternity fashion was impeccable.
Kareena doesn’t mince her words. When discussions began on the gender pay gap in Bollywood, she did not care who she was making uncomfortable with her statements. In an event in 2019, while being seated next to Akshay Kumar, she said, “As far as the paycheck goes, I just want to get paid as much as Akshay Kumar gets paid.”
Kareena’s demand for equal pay is crucial, more so, when the said male star can command obnoxious pay despite repeated flops.
Kareena demanded her worth since the beginning of her career, and did not shy away even from friends. Karan Johar mentioned in his autobiography that she demanded equal pay for Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003).
“The weekend of Mujhse Dosti Karoge’s release, I offered her Kal Ho Naa Ho, and she asked for the same money that Shah Rukh Khan was getting,” wrote the filmmaker. He also refused to pay her the money, opting to cast Preity Zinta instead.
Women, in general, tend to undersell themselves in their professional fields. By holding her own and demanding money, the actor set a much more important trend than her choice of roles or fashion.
Kareena Kapoor Khan is a force of nature. From going size zero for Tashan (2008) and bringing about a storm of discussion, criticism, and fad diets, to now refusing to take Botox, she has always been her own person.
“Nourishing my soul with a good meal, a heartfelt chat, or a bottle of wine is essential for me,” she said, and we should raise a glass to that.
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(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)