After having acted in over 50 movies in a filmography spanning 23 years, Kareena Kapoor Khan seems to be on the cusp of a career breakthrough. She’s played the star for too long, she’s now aching for roles that accord credence to her craft that she has dexterously honed and sharpened for over two decades now.
Hers has been a remarkable career, filled with more misses than hits, but through all the ebbs and flows has emerged an actor who has tried to balance glamour with gritty roles, stardom with defiant chutzpah to do better, different with each role. She made her acting debut opposite Abhishek Bachchan in JP Dutta’s 2000 romantic drama Refugee, which was comparatively riskier than starring in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Hrithik Roshan’s launch vehicle directed by his filmmaker father, a sure blockbuster even when it was in the making.
Since then, although sporadically, Kapoor Khan has given acclaimed performances that have helped cement her reputation as a star who can also act and is secure enough to be a part of ensembles even if her track isn’t central to the story. There’s been Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (who can ever forget Poo?), Chameli, Yuva, Kurbaan, Heroine, and Angrezi Medium. I mention these films specifically because I’ve not included them in my ranking. My top five Kareena Kapoor Khan performances are a mix of both obvious choices and surprise picks.
As the star extraordinaire turns 43 today, which also happens to be the day of the release of her fantastic new Netflix thriller Jaane Jaan, I revisit five characters that she’s played so well that it’s impossible to imagine anyone else as them.
Geet, Jab We Met (2007)
How can anyone write about Kareena Kapoor and not discuss this firecracker of a character—a role of a lifetime—that has seared so deeply in the popular culture, it has become an entity of its own, much like Poo. Even though she didn’t see it coming, the film happened at a defining point in the actor’s life, drastically altering everything—her personal equations, her career trajectory, the way she was perceived. Imtiaz Ali’s most successful film yet, Jab We Met has that rare combination of ache, romanticism, naivete, and joie de vivre that the filmmaker has been trying to recreate ever since. Of course, Shahid Kapoor’s impeccable performance and the film’s subliminal music have contributed significantly to making Jab We Met what it has become, Geet it its beating heart.
Rupa, Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
Even in a film as blindly focused on its eponymous hero as Laal Singh Chaddha, Kapoor Khan manages to make ample room for Rupa’s warmth and doom. Both the women in this official Hindi remake of Robert Zemeckis’s 1994 Hollywood classic Forrest Gump—Laal’s mother (a wonderful Mona Singh) and Rupa, the one true love of his life—add incredible nuance and credibility to the life of a simpleton that feels too good to be true. Though Kapoor Khan has tapped into darkness earlier in her career in films such as Chameli and Heroine, in Laal Singh Chaddha, she brings in a lot of maturity and heart, ensuring that you never hate Rupa for the bigness of her dreams or her desperation to bring them to fruition.
Preet, Udta Punjab (2016)
Although it may look unlikely, each time Kapoor Khan has gone to the heartland, she has struck gold. The story of Dr Preet Sahani and assistant sub-inspector Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh in a memorable Hindi film debut) trying to clean up the drug menace plaguing Punjab runs parallel to the central arc of Tommy Singh and Mary Jane. The Abhishek Chaubey directorial is one of those precious Hindi films other than Omkara (which I’ll get to next), which despite being crowded, has each actor give a knockout performance, Kareena Kapoor Khan included.
Dolly, Omkara (2006)
It’s the only Kapoor Khan film from her career’s early phase to have made to this list. How could it not? A brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare’s celebrated Othello, Omkara stars her as Dolly, director Vishal Bhardwaj’s version of Desdemona, the star-crossed doe slaughtered in a bloody war of power and vendetta. Kapoor Khan doesn’t let limited screen time and blistering performances by everyone in the cast, including Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, and Konkona Sen Sharma, eclipse Dolly’s tender, loving devotion for Omkara. It was also the first time she was cast in an earthy, rustic role, in stark contrast to the kind of parts she had been playing until then, making it all the more special.
Rosie, Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012)
The story of a cop (Aamir Khan) trying to come to terms with the accidental drowning of his young son during a family picnic, this Reema Kagti directorial has Kapoor Khan play Rosie, a sex worker who helps him solve a high-profile case. Since she’d already done Chameli, Kapoor Khan made sure she played Rosie differently albeit with as much dignity, vulnerability, and grace. If you haven’t watched Talaash already, you must. It’s available for streaming on Netflix.
