Piyush Roy
Next month it will be exactly a decade and half to Kareena Kapoor’s Bollywood debut. The biggest ‘female’ promise from Bollywood’s first post 2000s’ Gen-X debutants (along with Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan), who came after the Khans and before the Ranbir, Ranveer and Deepikas of the day, has been away from the big screen for nearly a year now. Her last big release as a heroine, Singham Returns, had happened in August 2014. It was a typical Ajay Devgn action drama where she had hardly any scenes to emote. Since then she has only appeared in cameos in three films – The Shaukeens, Happy Ending and Gabbar is Back. Her last meaty onscreen role had happened a year earlier in Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013), opposite Imran Khan, a hero younger to her. The film was a flop. Perhaps the only Kareena Kapoor film with some excitement or expectation around it is her next release as a full-fledged heroine, Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan. But with Salman Khan playing the film’s hero, it wouldn’t be surprising if her part is again reduced to a glamorous distraction that comes for a few laughs, dances and songs.
So what happened to the Kareena Kapoor of Refugee, Chameli, Yuva, Dev, Kurbaan, Omkara, Talaash and Heroine? Even her staunchest detractors, have rarely faulted Kareena, the actor. The unfair hint of a natural comfort zone defining her most memorable north-Indian characters (Jab We Met, Omkara) on one hand, or the slur of a ‘ham act’ spoiling her stylish girly roles (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kambakkht Ishq) on the other, may have occasionally surfaced, but can one ever deny that she didn’t try making these characters her own. Be it in her weakly scripted films (Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon), guest appearances (LOC, Dev) or miniscule item outings (Kareena’s Yeh mera dil in the new Don while as seductive as the original Helen act, packed in a greater vengeance) – Kareena has always left a mark. For instance, in her three-scene LOC: Kargil, the end moment where she comes to the airport to receive her martyred boy-friend’s body – that odd coming-to-reality twitch in her gait, the lost look in her being and that first split moment shaken grappling with loss – leave a distinct recall in an action parade featuring over 30 star performers. Savour Kareena in the public testimony scene and throughout, in an unglamorous but heart rending supporting role in Govind Nihalani’s Dev, where she not only made a gritty picture as a courageous victim in some of the most disturbingly graphic riot scenes picturised on Indian cinema, but also emerged as the most memorable plea for sanity in a film that had the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri as its counter drama movers. Stating that “Kareena is competent always,” her Dev co-star Bachchan in one of his blogs had once appreciated her ability to leave the viewers with some “priceless expressions” even in split second acting appearances.
But today if you quiz anyone about Kareena’s most memorable parts; after an impromptu Jab We Met, many will be found wanting to recollect any of her other ‘impactful’ performances. Most wouldn’t even think about her while drawing latest lists of contemporary ‘thinking’ actresses. Is it because her choice of ‘roles’ have been suffering from a consistent quality downhill post Jab We Met? Most of the acting triumphs discussed above had happened at least five years ago. Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine remains the only major acting part from the powerhouse performer in recent years. Sadly, in spite of a multi-layered act by Kareena in the film, Heroine today is a forgotten story for no fault of its actress. Its inconsistent screenplay, predictable drama and weak characterisation make it one of the weakest films in Bhandarkar’s oeuvre.
When Kareena entered Bollywood, she was rated, the better actress among her other then debuting contemporaries like Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif. Today, while Priyanka, also selective in her roles, beats Kareena hands down in any comparative listing of great roles in their respective careers, Katrina’s commercial successes far outnumber Kareena’s in spite of her being a part of two all-time Bollywood blockbusters like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and 3 Idiots.
Kareena’s next release Bajrangi Bhaijaan for sure will be a reminder assurance to her fans that she hasn’t completely quit Bollywood. But at a time when every other actress in the film industry, including much younger newcomers like Alia Bhatt and Sonakshi Sinha too have added author backed roles into their less than 10 film filmographies, the 34-year-old diva actress deserves much better parts than playing the arm candy to a 50-year-old superstar. Hence the Kareena starrer that I am keen on watching is the next directorial venture of Abhishek Chaubey, Udta Punjab, a thriller exploring the issue of ‘substance abuse’ in Punjab. Chaubey has already made a mark with subjects having important female characters like Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya; but more importantly, the film once again pairs Kareena with her ex-boyfriend Shahid Kapoor. Together, there is still no doubting that they did make for one of the most memorable, cute and impactful star pairings from recent Bollywood!
