‘Kareena Is The Opposite Of Jab We Met’s Geet’

‘A
director’s
actor,
if
I
had
told
her
to
jump
from
a
building,
she
would
probably
have.’
‘But
I
only
told
her
to
jump
off
a
running
train…’

 

She
has
many
silver
jubilees
to
her
credit,
but
this
one
is
a
rare
distinction.
We
celebrate
Kareena
Kapoor’s
25th
year
in
showbiz
and
the
journey
continues.

The
actress
has
played
several
memorable
characters,
from
the
bubble-headed
Poo
in

Kabhi
Khushi
Kabhie
Gham
to
a
sex
worker
in

Chameli,
from
a

desi
Desdemona
in

Omkara
to
a
runaway
bride
in

Veere
Di
Wedding
and

Crew‘s
flight
attendant-turned-smuggler
Jasmine.

But
the
character
she
is
most
identified
with
is
Geet
from

Jab
We
Met.

Interestingly,
the
film’s
writer-director

Imtiaz
Ali
asserts
that
she
is
nothing
like
her
iconic
character.

Recalling
their
first
meeting,
he
tells


Rediff
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya,
“While
she
was
very
polite,
Kareena
was
somewhat
distant,
not
allowing
herself
to
interact
a
lot
and
keeping
the
conversation
a
little
formal.”

‘Is
Kareena
like
Geet?’

Is
Kareena
like
Geet?
I
don’t
believe
she
is.

I
would
say
that
in
some
ways,
they
are
the
opposite
of
each
other.

For
one,
Kareena
does
not
open
up
to
strangers
easily.

She
didn’t
even
open
up
to
me
when
I
met
her
for
the
first
time
at
her
Bandra
apartment
to
narrate
a
story
that
turned
into
the
film,

Jab
We
Met.

While
she
was
very
polite,
she
was
somewhat
distant,
not
allowing
herself
to
interact
a
lot
and
keeping
the
conversation
a
little
formal.

That
was
my
first
impression
of
her,
but
not
a
lasting
one.

I
believe
that
those
who
are
open,
impulsive
and
vulnerable
sometimes
guard
themselves
by
being
slightly
standoffish
with
those
they
don’t
know
well
and
that’s
how
it
turned
out
with
me.

Back
then,
we
had
only
a
short
conversation,
Kareena
didn’t
even
hear
the
full
story.

Busy
with
other
commitments,
she
said
she
couldn’t
do
my
film.

‘I
thought
Shahid
was
too
young
to
play
Aditya
Kashyap’

After
that,
I
wanted
to
make
the
film
with
many
others,
but

Jab
We
Met
has
the
distinction
of
being
the
most
rejected
film.

I
couldn’t
even
make
it
with
those
who
were
interested.

Almost
a
year
later,
I
met
Shahid
Kapoor
for
something
else
and
he
asked
me
about
this
story.

I
thought
he
was
too
young
to
play
Aditya
Kashyap,
but
he
wanted
to
do
the
role.

He
asked
who
my
choice
for
the
girl
was
and
I
admitted
that
I
had
met
Kareena,
had
even
spoken
to
her
earlier,
but
things
did
not
materialise.

‘I
don’t
think
she’s
heard
this
story,’
he
stated,
and
suggested
we
meet
the
next
day.

Casually
dressed,
Kareena
sat
on
the
floor
with
Shahid
and
Manish
Malhotra
and
listened
to
me
as
I
gave
them
a
full
two-and-a-half
hour
narration.

The
vibe
was
very
different
this
time.

I
could
see
she
was
completely
taken
in
by
the
story.

Instinctively,
I
knew
she
was
in
and
I
was
elated.

Today,
I
can’t
imagine
anyone
but
her
as
Geet.

‘Kareena
confided
that
her
Hindi
wasn’t
very
good’

Geet
is
a
happy-go-lucky
girl
who
speaks
with
a
certain
gushing
enthusiasm,
a
kind
of
bursting
forth.

Kareena
brought
this
out
very
well
though
innately
she
is
not
a
very
talkative
person.
But
she
is
a
natural
and
instinctive
actor.

She
is
more
reserved,
but
there’s
a
warmth
in
her
that
you
can
see
in
Geet
too.

Before
we
started
shooting,
she
took
me
into
confidence
and
confided
that
her
Hindi
wasn’t
very
good.

That
surprised
me
because
I
always
thought
she
spoke
the
language
well.
But
she
insisted
that
despite
the
general
impression,
it
would
help
if
she
got
the
dialogue
earlier
and
I
worked
with
her
on
her
lines.

It
amazed
me
to
see
how
she
took
the
words
I
had
written
for
Geet
and
made
them
her
own
so
seamlessly.

‘In
several
scenes,
she
faced
the
camera
with
no
make-up’

Kareena
was
the
first
top-ranking
leading
lady
I
worked
with
and
I
was
apprehensive,
wondering
if
she
would
be
focussed
on
full
make-up.

But
again,
she
surprised
me
by
agreeing
to
face
the
camera
without
any
make-up
for
so
many
scenes,
and
by
no
me-up,
I
mean
none
at
all.

There
was
no
hesitation,
no
intellectual
discussion,
her
belief
was
extreme
and
ultimate.

A
director’s
actor,
if
I
had
told
her
to
jump
from
a
building,
she
would
probably
have.

But
I
only
told
her
to
jump
off
a
running
train…

‘I’m
afraid
of
running
trains!’

On
our
first
day
on
the
train,
which
happened
to
be
in
Mumbai
itself,
Kareena
was
really
excited
to
enter
the
passenger’
boogey.

She
candidly
confessed
that
this
was
the
first
time
she
was
on
a
train.

That
worried
me
because
I
needed
her
to
be
comfortable
on
a
train
since
Geet
jumps
in
and
jumps
off
a
running
train
without
missing
a
beat.

When
I
pointed
this
out
to
her,
she
admitted
that
while
she
remembered
the
scenes
from
the
narration,
she
hadn’t
expected
to
do
the
shots
herself.

‘I
thought
you
would
manage
with
cuts
or
visual
effects,’
she
reasoned,
exclaiming
when
I
shook
my
head,
‘But
how
can
that
happen?
I’m
afraid
of
running
trains!’

I
reassured
her
she
would
not
have
to
take
any
life
risks.
While
shooting,
we
would
see
how
far
she
could
go
and
then
I
would
call
‘Cut’,
take
another
shot
and
do
some
jugglery
during
editing.

To
my
surprise,
as
soon
as
I
shouted
‘Action’,
Kareena
forgot
her
fears
and
jumped
off
the
running
train
chasing
after
Shahid’s
Aditya,
shouting
at
him
to
hurry
back
or
he
would
miss
the
train.

When
he
glares
at
her
and
refuses
to
budge,
she
runs
back,
stumbles
and
falls,
watching
helplessly
as
the
train
pulls
out
of
the
station
leaving
her
stranded
too.

After
the
shot
was
canned,
I
pointed
out
to
her
that
she
had
done
the
impossible.

Still
dazed,
she
woke
up
from
her
performance,
shooting
me
an
incredulous,
‘Oh
really?
Wow!’

After
that,
we
shot
her
introduction
scene
where
she
chases
after
the
running
train,
making
sure
that
all
the
pieces
of
her
baggage,
from
her
bags
and
soft
toys
to
a
framed
photograph
of
Babaji,
are
loaded,
before
grabbing
a
fellow
passenger’s
hand
and
jumping
into
the
compartment,
gleefully
announcing
that
she
has
never
missed
a
train.

Again,
she
did
the
shot
herself
despite
her
earlier
fears.

She
just
flowed
into
the
scenes,
there
was
so
much
passion
and
conviction
in
every
action,
and
what’s
more
she
looked
so
good
too.

‘It
was
lovely
to
see
how
Kareena
got
the
vibe
so
right’

I
cannot
judge
her
in
my
own
film,
but
there
are
two
performances
which
have
really
impressed
me.

One
is

Yuva
in
which
Kareena
plays
a
girl
from
Kanpur
who
comes
to
study
in
a
college
in
Kolkata.

I
have
met
many
girls
like
Meera
from
rich
families
in
small
towns
of
UP
when
studying
in
Delhi
and
despite
being
a
Mumbaikar,
it
was
lovely
to
see
how
she
got
the
vibe
so
right.

I
guess
Mani
sir
(Director
Mani
Ratnam)
must
have
told
her
something
about
Meera’s
background
and
Kareena
imbibed
it
completely
in
her
performance.

‘She
was
as
good
as
the
other
accomplished
actors
in

Omkara‘

Another
superb
performance
is
Dolly
Mishra
in

Omkara.

There
is
a
particular
scene
where
she
is
in
a
room
with
several
others
and
they
are
talking.

I
had
gone
to
see
the
film
in
the
theatre
with
friends
and
while
watching
this
scene,
I
realised
that
these
actors
had
been
doing
theatre
for
decades
and
were
among
the
best
acting
talent
of
the
country.

Kareena,
in
comparison,
was
a
child,
a
young
and
glamorous
Hindi
film
heroine.

Yet,
she
was
as
good
as
the
other
accomplished
actors,
her
natural
talent
shining
through.

I
would
go
so
far
as
to
say
that
she
is
the
most
authentic
part
of
that
scene.

It’s
impossible
to
fathom
how
she
could
have
played
Dolly
Mishra
so
convincingly.

‘I
keep
meeting
Kareena
at
events,
but
we
haven’t
hung
out
in
a
while’

I
saw
Kareena’s
debut
film,

Refugee,
in
the
theatre
too,
and
even
back
then,
I
thought
this
girl
showed
a
lot
of
talent
and
promise.

There
was
a
vivaciousness
about
her.

In
one
particular
scene,
where
she
needs
to
be
a
little
forceful,
she
comes
across
as
almost
rude
because
of
this
vivaciousness.

I
keep
meeting
Kareena
at
events,
but
we
haven’t
hung
out
in
a
while.

The
last
time
was
quite
a
few
years
ago,
at
a
party
in
her
home,
with
Saif
(husband
Saif
Ali
Khan)
for
company.

I
know
she
still
has
a
fondness
for
me
which
she
doesn’t
know
how
to
express
in
the
obvious
manner.

‘What
hasn’t
changed
is
Kareena’s
spirit’

It’s
been
almost
18
years
since

Jab
We
Met
released
on
October
25,
2007,
and
physically
we
have
all
changed.

What
hasn’t
changed
is
Kareena’s
spirit,
she
still
exudes
that
nice,
clean
energy.

I
often
hear
people
say
the
film
is
as
fresh
today;
when
I
watch
it,
I
engage
with
it
in
the
way
that
a
director
would,
but
I
would
want
to
believe
that
this
echo
of
freshness
is
true.

No,
I’ve
never
wanted
to
make
a
sequel
because
there
is
nothing
left
to
tell
in
the
story
now.

Whenever
I
am
approached,
I
point
out
that
for
the
film
to
be
made,
I
would
have
to
create
a
conflict
between
Geet
and
Aditya.

‘Would
they
want
to
see
them
fighting
in
the
very
first
scene?’
I
ask.

That’s
enough
to
dissuade
even
the
most
hardcore
supporter
of
remakes
and
sequels.

What
I
would
like
to
make
today
is
a
comedy,
with
Kareena
in
a
corporate
type
job,
in
a
crime
syndicate.

She
plays
this
woman
who
is
trying
to
manage
a
lot
of
things,
but
unable
to
keep
everything
in
order.

She
makes
a
lot
of
mistakes
and
while
that
messes
things
for
the
syndicate,
it
works
to
the
advantage
of
society

per
se.

That
would
be
fun!

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff