After making her acting debut in the 2000 war drama
Refugee, Kapoor established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema in
2001 with roles in the historical drama Asoka and the blockbuster melodrama
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. This initial success was followed by a series of
commercial failures and repetitive roles, which garnered her negative reviews.
The year 2004 marked a turning point for her when she played against type in
the role of a sex worker in the drama Chameli. She subsequently earned wide
critical recognition for her portrayal of a riot victim in the 2004 drama Dev
and a character based on William Shakespeare's heroine Desdemona in the 2006
crime film Omkara, following which she received the Filmfare Award for Best
Actress for her performance in the 2007 romantic comedy Jab We Met. Kapoor
achieved further success by featuring as the female lead in four of India's
top-grossing productions—the 2009 dramedy 3 Idiots, the 2010 comedy Golmaal 3,
the 2011 romantic drama Bodyguard, and the 2011 science fiction Ra.One—and
received praise for her roles in the 2009 thriller Kurbaan and the 2012 drama
Heroine.
Married to actor Saif Ali Khan, Kapoor's off-screen life
is the subject of widespread coverage in India. She is known in the Indian
media for being publicly outspoken and assertive, and is recognised for her
contributions to the film industry through her fashion style and film roles. In
addition to film acting, Kapoor is a stage performer and has contributed as a
co-author to three books an autobiographical memoir, and two nutrition guides.
She has also launched her own clothing line in association with the retail
chain Globus.Born into a film family in Mumbai on 21 September 1980, Kapoor
(often informally referred to as 'Bebo') is the younger daughter of Randhir
Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani) her elder sister Karisma is also an actress.
She is the granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and niece of actor Rishi
Kapoor. According to Kapoor, the name "Kareena" was derived from the
book Anna Karenina, which her mother read while she was pregnant with her. She
is of Punjabi descent on her father's side, and Sindhi on her mother's side. As
a child, Kapoor regularly practised Hinduism, but was also exposed to
Christianity from her mother.
Describing herself as a "very naughty [and] spoilt
child", Kapoor's exposure to films from a young age kindled her interest
in acting she was particularly inspired by the work of actresses Nargis and
Meena Kumari. Despite her family background, her father disapproved of women
entering films because he believed it conflicted with the traditional maternal
duties and responsibility of women in the family. This led to a conflict between
her parents, and they separated. She was then raised by her mother, who worked
several jobs to support her daughters until Karisma debuted as an actress in
1991. After living separately for several years, her parents reconciled in
October 2007. Kapoor remarked "My father is also an important factor in my
life [Al]though we did not see him often in our initial years, we are a family
now.
Kapoor attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai,
followed by Welham Girls' School in Dehradun. She attended the institution
primarily to satisfy her mother, though later admitted to liking the
experience. According to Kapoor, she wasn't inclined towards academics though
received good grades in all her classes except mathematics. After graduating
from Welham she studied commerce for two years at Mithibai College in Vile
Parle (Mumbai). Kapoor 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, Mumbai; during
this period, she developed a long-lasting passion for reading. However, after
completing her first year, Kapoor decided to pursue her interest to become an
actress. She began training at an acting institute in Mumbai mentored by Kishore
Namit Kapoor, a member of the Film and Television Institute of India FTII.While
training at the institute, Kapoor was cast as the female lead in Rakesh
Roshan's Kaho Naa. Pyaar Hai (2000) opposite his son, Hrithik Roshan. Several
days into the filming, however, she abandoned the project Kapoor later
explained that she had benefited by not doing the film since more prominence
was given to the director's son. She debuted later that year alongside Abhishek
Bachchan in J. P. Dutta's war drama Refugee. Set during the Indo-Pakistani war
of 1971, the film centers on a man who illegally transports civilians back and
forth across the border. Kapoor portrayed Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in
love with Bachchan's character while illegally migrating to Pakistan with her
family. Her performance was acclaimed by critics Taran Adarsh of Bollywood
Hungama described her as "a natural performer" and noted "the
ease with which she emotes the most difficult of scenes", while India
Today reported that Kapoor belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors that
breaks away from character stereotypes. On the experience of acting in her
first film, Kapoor described it as "tough also. Refugee was a moderate
box-office success in India and Kapoor's performance earned her the Filmfare
Award for Best Female Debut.For her second release, Kapoor was paired opposite
Tusshar Kapoor in Satish Kaushik's box-office hit Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001).
A review in The Hindu noted that based on her first two films, she was
"definitely the actress to watch out for". She next starred alongside
Jackie Shroff and Hrithik Roshan in Subhash Ghai's flop Yaadein, followed by
Abbas-Mustan's moderately successful thriller Ajnabee, co-starring Akshay
Kumar, Bobby Deol and Bipasha Basu. Later that year, she appeared in Santosh
Sivan's period epic Asoka, a partly fictionalized account of the life of the
Indian emperor of the same name. Featured opposite Shahrukh Khan, Kapoor played
the role of Kaurwaki (a Kalingan princess) with whom Ashoka falls in love; she
described the character as being "very complex. one point very feminine,
at another an aggressive and fearsome fighter who could annihilate any
enemy". Asoka was screened at the Venice and 2001 Toronto International
Film Festivals, and received generally positive reviews internationally but
failed to do well in India, which was attributed by critics to the way Ashoka
was portrayed. Jeff Vice of The Deseret News described Kapoor as
"riveting" and commended her screen presence. Rediff.com, however,
was more critical concluding that her presence in the film was primarily used
for aesthetic purposes. At the 47th Filmfare Awards, Asoka was nominated for
five awards including a Best Actress nomination for Kapoor.
A key point in Kapoor's career came when she was cast by
Karan Johar as Poo (Pooja) (a good-natured, superficial girl) in the melodrama
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) alongside an ensemble cast. Filming the
big-budget production was a new experience for Kapoor, and she recalls it
fondly: t was great fun doing the film and we had a blast. Working with the
unit and the six mega star set was a dream come true. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
was an immensely popular release, finishing as India's second highest-grossing
film of the year and Kapoor's highest-grossing film to that point. It also
became one of the biggest Bollywood success of all time in the overseas market,
earning over INR1 billion (US$16 million) worldwide. Taran Adarsh described
Kapoor as one of the main highlights of the film, and she received her second
Filmfare nomination for the roleher first for Best Supporting Actress—as well
as nominations at the International Indian Academy (IIFA) and Screen Awards.
Box Office India reported that the success of Mujhe Kucch
Kehna Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham established Kapoor as a leading actress
of Hindi cinema, and Rediff.com published that with Asoka she had become the
highest-paid Indian actress to that point earning INR15 million (US$250,000)
per film. During 2002 and 2003, Kapoor continued to work in a number of
projects but experienced a setback. All six films in which she starred—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—were critically and
commercially unsuccessful. Critics described her performances in these films as
"variations of the same character" she played in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie
Gham, and expressed concern that she was becoming typecast.
By 2004, Kapoor was keen on broadening her range as an
actress and thus decided to portray more challenging roles. Under the direction
of Sudhir Mishra, Kapoor essayed the role of a golden-hearted prostitute in
Chameli, a film relating the story of a young prostitute who meets with a
widowed investment banker (played by Rahul Bose). When Kapoor was initially
offered the film she refused it, explaining that she would be uncomfortable in
the role. She relented when Mishra approached her for the second time, and in
preparation for the role, visited several of Mumbai's red-light districts at
night to study the mannerisms of sex workers and the way they dressed. Chameli
was well received by critics and the film marked a significant turning point in
her career, earning Kapoor a special jury recognition at the 49th Filmfare
Awards. Indiatimes praised her "intuitive brilliance" and stated that
she had exceeded all expectations. Rediff.com, however, found her portrayal
unconvincing and excessively stereotypical, describing her as "sounding
more like a teenager playacting than a brash, hardened streetwalker" and
comparing her mannerisms to a caricature.
Kapoor next co-starred in Mani Ratnam's bilingual project
Yuva alongside Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji and
Esha Deol. The film, consisting of three chapters, tells the story of six
individuals linked by a car accident. Kapoor is featured in the third chapter
as Oberoi's love interest (Mira, a witty young woman). In a Times of India
review film critic Subhash K Jha described her role as "fey and
insubstantial", but further stated that "she turns these character traits
to her own advantage to create a girl who is at once enigmatic and
all-there". She then appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Fardeen Khan
in Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed film Dev, which revolved around the
2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kapoor's role was that
of a Muslim victim named Aaliya, modelled after Zaheera Sheikh (a key witness
in Vadodara's Best Bakery case). It earned her a Filmfare Critics Award for
Best Actress and nominations for Best Actress at various award ceremonies.
Taran Adarsh described her as "first-rate" and in particular noted
her scene with Bachchan's character. Shortly afterwards, Kapoor was cast for
the first time as a villain in the thriller Fida. Set against the backdrop of
the Mumbai underworld, the film follows the story of an online heist in which
her character, Neha Mehra, becomes involved. Although the film was unsuccessful
at the box office, Kapoor received positive reviews for her performance, and
some critics noted a distinct progression from her earlier roles. Her
subsequent releases that year included Abbas-Mustan's thriller Aitraaz and
Priyadarshan's comedy Hulchul, both of which were successful at the Indian box
office. Following the success of her last two releases, she was cast as the
protagonist of the 2005 drama Bewafaa. The feature received mostly negative
reviews, and Kapoor's portrayal of Anjali Sahai an unfaithful woman was not
well received. Nikhat Kazmi of Indiatimes believed that to become a serious
actress Kapoor was embodying a maturer, more-jaded character beyond her years
in Bewafaa. She then starred in Priyadarshan's romantic drama Kyon Ki, which
was a box-office failure; however, Kapoor's performance was generally well
received by critics (with the BBC describing her as "a pure natural").
In 2006, Kapoor appeared in three films. She first
starred in the thriller 36 China Town, followed by the comedy Chup Chup Ke;
both were moderately successful. She next portrayed the character of Desdemona
in Omkara—the Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. The film
(directed by Vishal Bhardwaj) is a tragedy of sexual jealousy set against the
backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh. Describing Bhardwaj as a
world class director a unique style, Kapoor was cast in the project after the
director had seen her performance in Yuva, and was subsequently required to
attend script-reading sessions along with the entire cast. The feature
premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Cairo
International Film Festival. Omkara was received positively by critics, and
Kapoor's portrayal earned her a fourth Filmfare Award and first Screen Award.
In a 2010 retrospective of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances" of Hindi
cinema, Filmfare wrote that she was "brilliant" and praised her
ability to effortless convey the various emotions her character went through.
Kapoor considered her role in Omkara as a "new benchmark" in her
career, and compared her portrayal of Dolly with her own evolving maturity as a
woman.
Following Omkara, Kapoor took a short break from acting,
as she felt that "nothing challenging enough for me to say yes". In
an interview with The Times of India Kapoor commented, "In my initial
years in the industry, I pushed myself to do a lot of work because I was
greedy. I did some films—which I now regret—purely for the money. Today, I want
to do selective films."
Kapoor returned to film as the female protagonist Geet
Dhillon, a vivacious Sikh girl with a zest for life, in the romantic comedy Jab
We Met (2007). Director Imtiaz Ali was not a well-known figure before its
production, with only one feature credit to his name, but Kapoor agreed to the
film after being impressed with his "mind-blowing" script. Featured
opposite Shahid Kapoor, the film relates the story of two people with
contrasting personalities who meet on a train and eventually fall in love. The
film was received favourably by critics and became successful at the box office
with gross earnings of INR303 million (US$5.0 million). Kapoor won several
awards for her performance, including her second Screen Award and the Filmfare
Award for Best Actress. Jaspreet Pandohar of the BBC commented that the role
required a mixture of naivety and spontaneity, and was impressed with Kapoor's
effort. The critic Rajeev Masand labelled her the film's "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. While shooting
for Jab We Met, Kapoor and Shahid ended their three-year relationship. When
asked by Mumbai Mirror, she stated "I hold him in utmost regard, and I
hope one day we could be good friends. He is a great guy. The following year,
Kapoor co-starred in Vijay Krishna Acharya's action-thriller Tashan, where she
met her future husband in actor Saif Ali Khan. Although a poll conducted by
Bollywood Hungama named it the most anticipated release of the year, the film
under-performed at the box office grossing INR279 million (US$4.6 million) in
India. After providing her voice for the character of Laila, the love interest
of a street dog named Romeo, in the Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Pictures
animated film Roadside Romeo, Kapoor played a mistrustful wife who believed her
husband was unfaithful in Rohit Shetty's comedy Golmaal Returns. A sequel to
the 2006 film Golmaal Fun Unlimited, the film had an ambivalent reception from
critics, and Kapoor received mixed reviews. The Indian Express believed the
screenplay was derivative, concluding There is nothing particularly new about a
suspicious wife keeping tabs on her husband, and there is nothing particularly
new in the way Kareena plays it. Golmaal Returns was a financial success with
global revenues of INR793 million (US$13 million).
In 2009, Kapoor was cast as Simrita Rai opposite Akshay
Kumar in Sabbir Khan's battle-of-the-sexes comedy Kambakkht Ishq. Set in Los
Angeles, it was the first Indian film to be shot at Universal Studios and
featured cameo appearances by Hollywood actors. The film was poorly received by
critics but became an economic success, earning over INR840 million (US$14
million) worldwide a review in The Times of India described Kapoor's
performance as a complete let-down" and "unconvincing. The box-office
flop Main Aurr Mrs Khanna came next, following which she played the leading
lady in the dramatic thriller Kurbaan, alongside Saif Ali Khan and Vivek
Oberoi. The film (which marked the directorial debut of Rensil D'Silva)
featured Kapoor as Avantika Ahuja, a woman who is confined to house arrest
after discovering that her husband is a terrorist. Describing the film as
"an emotionally draining experience", Kapoor explained that it was
difficult to disconnect from her character. The film was critically praised,
and Kapoor received her fourth Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Gaurav Malani
of The Economic Times commented that after a long time the actress was given a
role of substance that brings her performing potential to the fore, while
Subhash K Jha described it as her most consistently pitched performance to
date" played "with splendid sensitivity" and credib.
Kapoor's second Filmfare nomination that year came for
Rajkumar Hirani's National Film Award-winning 3 Idiots, a film loosely based on
the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. Co-starring alongside Aamir Khan,
R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, Kapoor played Pia (a medical student and Khan's
love interest). Several actresses were considered for the role, though Kapoor
was eventually cast under the recommendation of Khan. The film received
critical acclaim and emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time
up until then, grossing INR2026 million (US$33 million) in India.[66] It also
did well internationally, earning over INR1.08 billion (US$18 million), the
second biggest Bollywood success ever in the overseas market. The Deccan Herald
opined that Kapoor "brings a dollop of sunshine and feminine grace to an
otherwise masculine tale. She is so spunky and spontaneous you wish there was
room for more of her. 3 Idiots received several Best Movie recognitions at
major Indian award functions, and Kapoor was awarded the IIFA Award for Best
Actress, among others.
In 2010, Kapoor appeared in the romantic comedy Milenge
Milenge, a production delayed since 2005. The feature garnered negative reviews
and poor box-office returns. Kapoor's role was small, and not well received.
She next took a supporting role as career-oriented Shreya Arora in We Are
Family, adapted from the 1998 Hollywood film Stepmom. Reaction to the film was
lukewarm, but Kapoor's performance drew positive reviews and ultimately won her
the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Priyanka Roy of The Telegraph
praised Kapoor for "breath life and a new-found maturity into what is
largely a uni-dimensional character. At the end of the year, she reunited with
director Rohit Shetty for Golmaal 3, a sequel to Golmaal Returns. Like its
predecessor, the film received mixed reviews though emerged as the most
successful entry in the Golmaal series, earning more than INR1 billion (US$16
million) domestically. For her portrayal of the tomboy Daboo, Kapoor received
Best Actress nominations at various award ceremonies including Filmfare.
Kapoor had further success in 2011 as the love interest
of Salman Khan's character in the romantic drama Bodyguard, a remake of the
2010 Malayalam film of the same name. The film was not well received by
critics, though became a financial success, with a domestic total of INR1409.5
million (US$23 million) India's highest earning film of the year. A review in
Mint dismissed Kapoor's role as the "sacrificial, ornamental submissive female Mid Day referred to her as
bright, arguing that she actually manages to bring her caricature of a role
alive. She next appeared in Anubhav Sinha's science fiction film Ra.One with
Shahrukh Khan. The film, employing special effects previously unused in
Bollywood, became the most expensive Hindi film ever produced at the time.
Despite garnering mixed reviews, Ra.One became one of the biggest earners of
the year with a worldwide total of over INR2 billion (US$33 million), and
Kapoor's fourth major commercial success in two consecutive years. Kapoor
followed her success in Bodyguard and Ra.One with a role in Shakun Batra's
directorial debut Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) opposite Imran Khan. Produced by
Dharma Productions, the romantic comedy is set in Las Vegas and tells the story
of two strangers who get married one night after getting drunk. In an interview
with The Times of India, Kapoor explained that she was drawn to the qualities
of her character Riana Braganza—a carefree young woman Riana knows what she is
doing. Even though she does not have a house or a job, she is a positive person
very similar to the way I am. The film received positive reviews and was an
economic success, grossing a total of INR530 million (US$8.7 million) in India
and abroad. The Hollywood Reporter found her endearingly natural Sukanya Verma
of Rediff.com asserted that "after doing ornamental roles in films like
Bodyguard and Ra.One, it is nice to see the spunky actress in her element again
since Jab We Met. She next appeared in Agent Vinod, an espionage thriller
directed by Sriram Raghavan. Kapoor was enthusiastic about the project, but it
met with a tepid response and she was described as miscast. When asked why she
had taken the role, Kapoor described it as an opportunity to attempt something
she had never done before.
For her next feature, Kapoor was cast as the protagonist
of Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine, a drama revolving around the Bollywood film
industry. Originally the first choice for the role, Kapoor was hesitant to take
on the project when Bhandarkar approached her with the film's initial concept.
With reservations about the criticism her character might evoke, she was
replaced by Aishwarya Rai. Days after production began, Rai left the film due
to her pregnancy and Bhandarkar re-approached Kapoor with the film. When the
director reinforced his faith in her, she agreed to do the film after having
read the completed script. Kapoor who described her character of Mahi Arora fading
staras bipolar and schizophrenic refrained from taking on any other projects,
since she found Heroine "very aggressive and tiring. Bollywood Hungama
observed it as her best work to date noting that hough her character is
inconsistent Kareena furnishes the heroine's character with a rare
vulnerability and an exceptional inner life. Alongside her Filmfare nomination
for Best Actress, Kapoor was nominated at the annual IIFA, Screen, Star Guild
and Stardust award ceremonies.
Following the release of Heroine, Kapoor married actor
Saif Ali Khan on 16 October 2012. Described as India's "wedding and social
event of the year" in Rupa Subramanya's blog at The Wall Street Journal,
the wedding consisted of a five-day celebration period beginning with a pre-wedding
bash at Kapoor's residence followed by a registered marriage in the presence of
family and close friends. A reception was later held at the Taj Mahal Palace
& Tower hotel in Mumbai and the Lutyens Bungalow Zone in Delhi. In an
interview with Zee News, Kapoor stated that despite adding Khan to her name,
she would continue practising Hinduism after her marriage. At the end of the
year, she co-starred alongside Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji as the
"tantalisingly seductive prostitute" Rosie, in Reema Kagti's crime
mystery Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. Set against the backdrop of Mumbai's
red-light districts, it follows the travails of its personnel and principal,
Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat Khan who is assigned the duty of solving a
mysterious car accident. With global revenues of INR1.74 billion (US$29
million), the film generated predominantly positive reviews and Kapoor was
praised in particular. The Telegraph described her performance as naughty
nonchalan, played with an unseen mix of oomph and emotion that becomes the
centrepiece.
Kapoor's next appearance was a supporting role in Prakash
Jha's political drama Satyagraha (2013), a film loosely inspired by social
activist Anna Hazare's fight against corruption in 2011. The film featured an
ensemble cast and was highly anticipated by trade journalists due to its
release coinciding with the Mumbai and Delhi gang rape public protests. Kapoor
was cast as reporter Yasmin Ahmed and hoped that the film would help inspire
people to stop violence against women in India. Satyagraha received little
praise from critics, though proved to be a modest success grossing over INR675
million (US$11 million) domestically. A review in the Daily News and Analysis
noted that Kapoor was limited to mouthing a few 'important' dialogues and being
present in crucial scenes like any leading lady. For her next project, Kapoor
actively looked for a film that would be "good fun and carried a light
hearted feel. She had a starring role opposite Imran Khan in the romantic
comedy Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, but the feature was poorly received and earned
little at the box office.
In 2014, Kapoor collaborated with Ajay Devgan in Singham
Returns, an action drama that served as a sequel to the 2011 film Singham. The
role was written specifically for her by Rohit Shetty the third time the pair
had worked together since Golmaal 3 and Kapoor was cast as Avni, Devgan's
loquacious love interest. Reviews for the film were generally mixed with Kapoor
being criticized for taking a role of minimal importance, but with a worldwide
total of over INR1.45 billion (US$24 million), the film emerged as a major
commercial success. By October 2014, Kapoor will commence filming for Kabir
Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan opposite Salman Khan.