Top 10 hidden facts you didn’t know about Kareena Kapoor

Top 10 hidden facts you didn’t know about Kareena Kapoor

Heroine’ is director Madhur Bhandarkar’s birthday gift to his leading lady Kareena Kapoor and whisking her off to London for a romantic weekend is her fiance Saif Ali Khan. tabloid! has no such extravagant gestures. But as Kapoor turns 32 this Friday, we run you through the many things that you may have forgotten about the birthday girl. 

1. Her name was derived from the book Anna Karenina, which her mother read while she was pregnant with her. But her family and close friends call her Bebo. 

2. She is Bollywood royalty and is the granddaughter of veteran actor Raj Kapoor and great-granddaughter of the legendary showman Prithviraj Kapoor. 

3. Her actor father Randhir Kapoor wasn’t too keen on his daughter joining films. But her mum Babita, a former actress, thought differently. Her parents separated and her mother raised Kareena and her elder sister Karishma single-handedly. 

4. Kapoor joined Mumbai’s Mithibai College to pursue a degree in commerce. She discontinued this course and switched to law. In between, she also enrolled into Harvard University for a three-month summer course in microcomputers.

5. Kapoor was slated to make her debut with Hrithik Roshan in the blockbuster Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000). But she opted out when performance-oriented Refugee, opposite the then-newcomer Abhishek Bachchan, came along. Her loss proved to be Ameesha Patel’s gain. Roshan Jr and Patel became overnight stars but Refugee didn’t too well at the box-office. 

6. Her first commercial success was the sleeper hit Mujhe Kuch Kehna in 2001 opposite Tusshar Kapoor. She stole the thunder from Jeetendra’s son. 

7. She played the popular college snob Poo in Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham and was billed as Bollywood’s answer to Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. We are not crazy about it, but K3G remains one of the biggest blockbusters in her career. 

8. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurindher Chaddha did the unthinkable. She offered Kapoor the chance to play second fiddle to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and courted her for a role as the leading lady’s younger sister. Naturally, A-lister Kapoor turned down the miniscule role. It eventually went to model Piya Rai Chowdhary. 

9. She’s not a gadget person and considers her smartphone a slick innovation she happens to own. 

10. She’s usually diplomatic, but say the name Priyanka Chopra and her catty side emerges. Her latest claim: “My Heroine is better than Fashion”. For all those in the dark, Fashion remains Chopra’s biggest hit and she also won the National Award for it. While Chopra hit back saying “sour grapes”, Kapoor made snide remarks about PC’s posh accent.