Kareena Kapoor

Biography
Kareena Kapoor, nicknamed Bebo, is an actress who appears in Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut with Refugee , for which she won a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, Kapoor had her first commercial success with her second release, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai . Later that year, she was noticed for her performance in Karan Johar's melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which became India's top-grossing film in the overseas market that year and her biggest commercial success to date. Kapoor followed this with several films, which were unsuccessful at the box office, and encountered several negative reviews and criticisms for ...( show more

) becoming typecast. Trying to reinvent her image, she took on more serious characters, and was soon recognized for her versatility as an actress. Her portrayal of a sex-worker in Chameli proved to be the turning point in her career and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award. She later earned two Critics Award for Best Actress at the Filmfare for her performances in the critically acclaimed films Dev and Omkara . In 2007, Kapoor won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in the commercially successful comedy-romance Jab We Met. Despite not having that many hits to her credit, Kapoor has established herself as one of the leading actresses of Bollywood.

Main article: Kapoor family Hailing from the renowned Kapoor film family of Punjabi origin, Kapoor was born on September 21, 1980 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, as the second child of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani). According to Kapoor, her first name was derived from the book, Anna Karenina. She is the granddaughter of legendary actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and the great granddaughter of Prithviraj Kapoor. Bebo, as she is fondly called, is also the sister of popular actress, Karisma Kapoor and the niece of well-known actor, Rishi Kapoor. Other living relatives include maternal aunt Sadhana, and cousins Ranbir Kapoor and Nikhil Nanda. Due to family tradition, her father wanted her to get married early and settle down, thus avoiding acting, which was considered a taboo for Kapoor women. This led to irreconcilable differences between her parents, and resulted in her mother leaving the house along with Kapoor and her sister. She was raised by her mother, who, with difficulty, worked several jobs to support the family, until her sister got into films in 1991. Kapoor did her schooling at Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, and later Welham Girls Boarding School in Dehradun. After studying commerce at Mithibai College, Vile Parle for two years, she took a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard. She developed an interest in law, thus enrolled at the Government's Law College in Churchgate. After completing one year there, she returned to her initial plan to become an actor, and began training under Kishor Namit Kapoor, the founder of Kapoor Acting Lab.

Gossip columnists have linked Kapoor to a number of her co-stars, but she has strongly denied all these rumors. In 2004, she began dating actor Shahid Kapoor, the son of veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor. While dating, their relationship was widely reported in the media, and was once in the center of a scandal when onlookers with mobile phone cameras filmed them kissing and released it to the news. The couple separated three years later during the filming of their film Jab We Met (2007). Though media projected it as a publicity stunt for the film, it was later confirmed that the couple had indeed broken up. According to her, they remained on good terms, with her saying in an interview, "I have seen Shahid from his first film to Jab We Met and I can say that there is a marked difference. According to me he is a bundle of talent waiting to explode. I have that much of faith in him as an actor." In September 2007, during her breakup with Kapoor, rumours began floating around that she was seeing actor Saif Ali Khan. On October 18, 2007, during Manish Malhotra's grand finale show at the Lakme Fashion Week, Khan confirmed their relationship to the media saying, "Yes, we are not exactly shouting from the rooftops but yes, clearly we are together. And we are happy together!" Their relationship is frequently reported on in the media, and is often subject to press speculation of a possible engagement or marriage. However, both of them have denied these rumours. She also declared in 2006 that she would turn vegetarian to keep her weight in check.

Kapoor was initially approached to make her debut in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) opposite Hrithik Roshan. However, after several days into the filming, she abandoned the project. She later explained, "It was probably destined that I was not to be in the film. After all, it was a launch for his son (Hrithik Roshan). The whole focus was on the boy. Now I am glad I did not do the movie." Her career commenced with J.P. Dutta's moderately successful Refugee (2000) opposite Abhishek Bachchan. Set during the India-Pakistan conflicts, the film centers on a young man, Refugee, played by Bachchan, who carries out the illegal activity of taking civilians to Pakistan and forth. Kapoor played the role of Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in love with him while migrating to Pakistan; her performance won her critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Kareena Kapoor has a magnetic personality, which will make the viewer fall in love with her instantly. On a scale of 10, Kareena's performance deserves 9 marks, dialogue delivery 8 and overall personality 10. What surprises you is the ease with which she emotes the most difficult of scenes, that too against experienced performers. There's no denying the fact that she is a natural performer who is very camera friendly." Earning Kapoor her first Filmfare Award in the Best Female Debut category, the film eventually went on to became the fifth highest grossing film of the year.

Date of Birth
21 September, 1980

Place of Birth
Mumbai, Maharashtra , India

Filmography

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Actor

Kambakth Ishq (2008)
Golmaal Returns (2008) ... Ekta
Roadside Romeo (2008) ... voiceover of a dog
Tashan (2008) ... Pooja Singh
Halla Bol (2008) ... as part of screen footage from the film Omkara
Jab We Met (2007) ... Geeta
Kya Love Story Hai (2007) ... in an item song

Singer

Tashan (2008)
Fida (2004)
Dev (2004)
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Ajnabee (2001)

Photos

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