Kareena Kapoor Khan is confident that the real Indian woman battling multiple issues in Veere Di Wedding will change the way we look at cinema hereafter, says Saimi Sattar
Kareena Kapoor Khan has her back to the door and is looking out of the window of her hotel room but there is no mistaking her ebullient self even though just the top of her head is visible. “You’ve brought me a shampoo. I love shampoos,” she tells her hair-dresser. There’s no mistaking the child-like excitement of the voice that cine-goers have heard so many times. Dressed in a simple white T-shirt, black jeans, Kareena has her feet propped up on a stool in front as Yaani, the hair dresser, sets her hair while Subhash Wagle, the make-up person, gets to work on her face. She is getting ready for a press conference for her movie, Veere Di Wedding. But then Kapoor girl has always managed to take her fashion sensibilities and so called frivolity attached to her obsession with it in her stride as a serious actor .
Starring alongside Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania, Kareena says the film is one of a kind. “There have always been a Dil Chahta Hai, there’s always been a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, all of which have been branded as coming-of-age. But there has never been a film from the female’s point of view in terms of friendship and what women actually feel. It is always about what men feel. Films about women have always been about a struggle for empowerment or else the other extreme of being a chick flick. Nothing so far has been slice-of-life. It’s a story of four girls who are in different stages of marriage. We are showing certain issues in the film which we have not addressed earlier,” she says.
What makes this film different are the characters. “I think it is more progressive in a way. It is the way girls talk today, the way they think, what every girl is going through,” says Kareena, words tumbling out of her mouth really fast as she is excited about conveying the idea completely. The four friends are in different phases of their life. One is getting divorced, one is dying to get married, one is commitment phobic and one is in a sexless marriage. “Nobody talks about these things and that’s why everybody is a little taken aback by the trailer. One of the characters says that she is in a sexless marriage and has not had sex for a year. These things are always spoken in a hush hush tone, but if you are sitting with friends, you will talk about all these things,” she says as the hair dresser massages her hair.
Kareena admits that the four women in the movie are very different actors as well as very different people. “I think that is why the chemistry on screen is working. It has come together very organically and looks fantastic,” she says. She plays Kalindi who is commitment-phobic because her parents separated when she was very young. “You will see shades of this through her intensity, the fact that she is slightly mellower than the others,” she adds. But through all that, she has had her moments of fun. “After all it is the entertainment business. You do want to be entertained. It is fun, it is entertaining and that is what people want to watch,” she says.
The frank girl talk though has raised hackles, with the four protagonists in the film using cuss words. However, Kareena gets past all the criticism as she manages the knots on her silken mane. Referencing her husband’s onscreen persona, she tells us, “Saif Ali Khan was the villain in Omkara and he was bad-mouthing all through. He won a lot of awards for the film. The rough language was required in the film to establish the context of his character. Here too, nobody is doing it just for the sake of it. This film’s language and the platform are different. The audience we are catering to is also different. We are not forcing anything, the tonality is such. Guess people are not used to girls saying it as it is.”
So how does she go about preparing for her role in her private actor’s studioIJ “You think about your part before you get on to the set and talk to the director. Then shoot,” she says, matter-of-factly, making her spontaneous expressions look simple and easy and completely unprocessed. She is picky while choosing a role though, going entirely by the story. “I think the story has to be amazing. In Udta Punjab, the Tommy (Shahid) and Kumari Pinky (Alia Bhatt) track was stronger than Diljeet and my track. But just the fact that it was such a beautiful story where the doctor (played by Kareena) sacrificed her life for this person made me choose it. This story needed to be told and I loved the fact that the mainstream actors were playing these parts. It is not necessary that the three hours of the film have to be about me but the story has to be thrilling, chilling and entertaining,” she says.
Besides the content, show business emphasises on looking good and has harsh standards, especially for women. But Kareena sets her own rules, give or take. “We do come from a visual medium and looking good is part and parcel of it but in today’s day and age, beauty is how you look at it. You don’t have to have six pack abs. I have never believed in that unless it is for a particular role. We should be happy with what we have.” Despite marriage and pregnancy, Kareena has not really been away from work, bucking the trend of other celebrity mothers. “I did take a break of six months before I started doing Veere but I had always insisted I would work through my pregnancy. Acting is what I like doing best and I will bend my life around it,” she says.
And if you bring up other actors like Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit who made a comeback after a long hiatus thanks to matrimony, Kareena is quick to point out, “That is just the way I am and the way I think. I always wanted to be a working woman and that is something I was not willing to give up when I got married and I don’t want to change having had a baby.” However, she does not discount women who stay at home. “Women empowerment does not necessarily mean moving out and working, it is also about respecting a woman’s right to choose raising her children and settle into domesticity on her own terms,” she says.
And there was, of course, a reason that she refuses to stay away from the arclights. “Just the fact that I like the idea and process of filmmaking more than anything else. I enjoy that because I come from a film family and acting is encoded in me. I want to do different parts and try to do 10 different stories,” says the actor whose last outing was in Bajrangi Bhaijaan in 2015.
She believes the secret to her longevity in the film industry is striking a balance between commercial and alternative cinema and not get typecast. “I am always proud of my glamorous image. One has to enjoy some commercial success. If I have done an Udta Punjab, then I have also done the Golmaal series. I have always tried to balance things out. To sustain in the film industry for 18 years, one has to keep doing exciting work. I do films that suit my personality, my time limit and gives me joy,” she says pointedly.
The actor says she has been a risk-taker right from the beginning of her career despite being a commercial heroine. “When I was 22, I did Chameli and people thought I would not do it. For me, it is all about having the right balance of things and savour a spice called variety.”
But, of course, the birth of Taimur has changed a lot in her. For once, she does appear calmer, a little less of the child-woman or Pooh — something to which she too admits. “Once you have a child, life is never the same because you do not think about yourself. You only think about your child. When my mother told me this, I never believed her but now I do,” says the actor who says that she is learning to be a parent while her husband, thanks to his prior experience, is better equipped to deal with it.
Her key to achieving a work life balance is to have a good support system where she tries to take out as much time as possible. “When I am working, Saif tries to be at home and when he is working, I try to be home. He has been shooting for three months for Navdeep’s film in Rajasthan. During this time, I didn’t shoot for any movie because I had to be with Taimur. So we try to balance it out that way,” says the actor who played a step-mom in the 2010 movie, We Are Family.
Talking about her son, does it bother her that the child is constantly in the media eyeIJ “We are in the digital age. Everything is about being visible and being in the picture. I have to live with the attention. I might not be okay with it but both Saif and I have come to terms with the fact that we have to live it. But of course we are protective towards him. He is so young and we want him to have as much of a normal life as possible,” she says.
Besides sharing responsibilities of her son, does the power couple also discuss their career movesIJ “Actually not really. I have never asked whether I should do this film or not. It is completely my call. And the same goes for him. You should be responsible for your own success and failure. Moreover our taste in films is completely different,” she says.
For her, audience recognition is much more important than awards. “Of course, everyone wants to have that one Filmfare award. I am lucky to have a few,” says Kareena who has received six Filmfare Awards out of ten nominations. For her role in Refugee, she was awarded the Best Female Debut in 2000.
She earned a special jury recognition for Chameli (2003), and two Critics Award for Best Actress for Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006). She later received the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for Jab We Met (2007) and We Are Family (2010) respectively.
As for her future plans, she has a movie chalked out at the end of the year. “It will be an exciting one but I will let the producer announce it,” she says, her eyes twinkling at the thought of the project.
When not acting, she likes travelling and food, both of which play an important part in her life. “I like running away as one wants to be free. I like spending time with my family and friends.” But would she like to take up anything which goes beyond actingIJ “No, I think I am only interested in acting. Never looked at wanting to be a director,” she says rolling her eyes in her trademark style as she bids goodbye.