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CINEMA:
KAREENA KAPOOR
A Keen Observer
Those who have seen
her over the years, like director Vashu Bhagnani, reveal how the little
girl has literally been working on a script. He recalls the first time
he saw her on the sets of Coolie No 1, which starred Karisma. "She
was barely 12 but she would sit for hours watching and observing the technique,
the actors, the chemistry." It wasn't just that film. The Welham
School alumnus used every opportunity-weekends, holidays, even bunking-to
be on her sister's sets.
To Kareena this was simply part of her schooling.
"I have been watching Sridevi, Madhuri and other actresses since
the age of six. I know I had to be there on the big screen where I belong,"
she says. So it's hardly surprising that even a taskmaster like Ghai finds
that her talent is matched by effort. And unlike Karisma, Kareena isn't
into method. "I don't plan my shots. But once they say "action",
it simply happens and I deliver." Bhagnani agrees. "She gives
105 per cent without your asking. She knows what, where, when and how.
What more can a director ask for and get?"
There's one touchy issue though: dancing. Kareena
admits she's not a natural but has mastered it over the years. "Sure,
I feel like packing and leaving every time there's a dance sequence. Initially
I believed those bad-mouthing my ability to dance," she says candidly.
"But I worked on it and now my critics have been silenced by MKKH."
Bhagnani points out how song sequences take over a week with newcomers,
but how Kareena was as good as any veteran and the songs were canned in
just four or five days.
It's the kind of professionalism that props
the No. 1 status Kareena is making a shy at. Big-tag distributor Shyam
Shroff of Shringar Films believes she will have to prove herself at the
box office more than once to get there. Subhash Ghai hopes that the initial
success and attendant media hype doesn't destroy her. "She has promise,
the perception and talent to go with," he says. "Now she needs
to build the consistency and a reputation for commitment in terms of professionalism
and management of time."
Kareena, on her part, feels she has a long way
to go. Comparing herself with Karisma, she says her sister "took
the stairs while I have taken the elevator". "I thank my genes
and my destiny but I still have to learn a lot from my mother and my sister."
And she genuinely wants to improve. "People may say I am No. 1 or
whatever. I know I am not and I won't be till I know I am No.1,"
the budding star says.
Bollywood is not used to this: neither the articulation
nor the attitude. It's still muted but her knack for being flippant and
for saying the right things the wrong way at the wrong time have already
brought her some notoriety. Her high-handed attitude-likened to that of
Hollywood's Angelina Jolie at one level and Salman Khan on the other-is
the other talking point. Nobody is complaining overtly though. Some even
dub her attitude as adaa and some like Kaushik believe "flippancy
and attitude add to star power". It's early days in any case, she
is young and naive and has probably already corrected herself. Perhaps
Karisma's mentorship and the commitment of mother Babita would be effective
deterrents.
Barring the notoriety and personal foibles,
there is very little that can stop Babita's Bebo from being crowned the
best. Her most serious challenger Aishwarya Rai has only Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's Devdas with Shah Rukh Khan besides another film with Sunil
Shetty. Kareena believes her best friend Esha Deol, interestingly mentored
by another star mom Hema Malini, could perhaps be the closest rival. But
for now Kareena is competing with Kareena. Tactically shrewd Babita has
ensured that every major release of every major banner in the next 12
months has Kareena's name rolling down the credits. The Kapoors may well
applaud from the sidelines but Kareena's triumph has been programmed to
be her mother's moment of glory.
Kareena is not looking that far. "I live
each moment, each day. I don't intend being around forever, maybe five
years. This is just the beginning of the script," says Kareena. So
what does the climax look like beyond the crown? The child-woman giggles
huskily: "Richard Gere comes to take Julia Roberts home."
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