Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor ( born on September 21, 1980), is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received five Filmfare Awards and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary romantic dramas to comedies, period films to major Bollywood productions, as well as less publicised independent films.Born into a family where both her parents, Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and her elder sister Karisma were actors, Kapoor faced the media spotlight from a very young age, but did not make her acting debut until the 2000 film Refugee. Her melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... became India's highest-grossing film in the overseas market in 2001, and is one of her biggest commercial successes to date.After receiving negative reviews for a series of repetitive roles, Kapoor accepted more demanding parts in order to avoid being typecast, and was consequently recognized by critics for displaying greater versatility as an actress.Her portrayal of a sex worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career and she was later noted for her performances in the critically acclaimed Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006).

In 2007, Kapoor received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Jab We Met, a romantic comedy directed by Imtiaz Ali. She went on to play the lead female role in the thriller Kurbaan (2009), for which she earned critical acclaim, and the drama 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time.
Having done so, Kapoor has established herself as a leading actress of the Hindi film industry.In addition to movie acting, Kapoor is a regular stage performer and has launched her own clothing line in association with being the brand ambassador for the retail chain Globus. Her off-screen life, including her relationship with actor Saif Ali Khan, is the subject of wide media coverage in India.

Later in the year, she starred in Santosh Sivan's period epic Asoka, a partly fictionalized account of the life of Ashoka the Great. It was widely screened across the United Kingdom and North America, and was also selected for screening at the Venice Film Festival and the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival.Featured opposite Shahrukh Khan who played Ashoka, Kapoor portrayed the character of Kaurwaki, a princess of Kalinga with whom Ashoka falls in love, and received her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination.While the film received generally positive reviews, Kapoor's performance received a mixed reaction from critics. Rediff.com concluded that "while a large portion of the first half is focused on the emerging romance between the runaway prince and herself and to their credit they do manage to whip up some on-screen chemistry, I am still unsure as to her acting abilities."Meanwhile, David Rooney from Variety wrote, "Kapoor plays ornately tattooed Kaurwaki as a lively mix of flirtatious coquette and feisty warrior woman, kind of like J.Lo meets Michelle Yeoh."Kapoor's final release of 2001 was Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., a melodrama, in which she was featured as part of an ensemble cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Hrithik Roshan. Directed by Karan Johar, the movie was a major financial and critical success and became India's second highest-grossing film of the year, as well as Kapoor's highest-grossing movie up until then. It also performed well internationally and became the biggest Bollywood success of all time in the overseas market up until then, earning over Indian Rupee ₹1,000 million (US$21.7 million) worldwide.Kapoor's performance as "Poo", a good-natured but superficial girl, was described as "one of the main ... highlights of the film",and her portrayal earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination.During 2002 and 2003, Kapoor experienced a setback in her career. She was in six films—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—all of which proved critically and commercially unsuccessful in India.Kapoor's performances were often identified by critics as unoriginal and repetitive, with little inspiration.They expressed concern that she was becoming typecast, but these negative reviews were fundamental in motivating her to improve her integrity as an actress in subsequent years by accepting more demanding roles.

In August 2007, Kapoor replaced actress Soha Ali Khan, when she was hired as the brand ambassador for the clothing chain Globus on a two-year contract. Vinay Nadkarni, CEO of Globus Stores Pvt Ltd, explained that in an attempt to move away from being a multi-branded retail chain to adopting a single brand strategy for its stores, the clothing chain decided to appoint a different brand ambassador for its new business ventures.On being appointed by Globus, Kapoor commented, "I am delighted to be the face of Globus [...] I look forward to spreading this new language of fashion across the nation". Since her start, it was reported that the brand had experienced a 75 percent increase in sales.In February 2008, Kapoor announced that she would be launching her own line of clothing, thus becoming the first Indian actress to do so.She said, "I will be launching my exclusive line of clothes soon and I am quite sure people will like it. My clothing line is very reflective of my personal sense of style and will have my label on it. Just like I am pretty casual about my dressing, my line will also consist of an extremely wearable yet stylish collection. I am taking out this line in association with Globus, a brand that I am also the ambassadress for".Kapoor further stated that she would also be involved in the planning and designing process of the clothing as well.Her clothing line debuted several months later in stores across India and was well-received by the public.Following the end of her contract with Globus, Kapoor expressed her desire of working with an international design house from the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in France, to release her clothing line internationally. In January 2010, she explained that "I have the plans in place [and] I just have to execute them". However, Kapoor later noted that due to her prior commitments, her "plans [...] have had to take a backseat".