Kareena turns older, but not worried about number game

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) With an acting career spanning almost eight years, Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor, who is set to celebrate her birthday by shooting in Ladakh Sunday, is among the top actresses today. But she says she does not believe in the number game at all.

“I think it is my choice of roles that has worked well for me. Otherwise, frankly, it is the media who chooses the queen of Bollywood every Friday. I don’t like to be tagged as a particular actress and I really don’t believe in the numbers game,” Kareena had said at an event here recently.

Kareena says she will be busy shooting in Ladakh on her 28th birthday. “On my birthday, I will be shooting for Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Three Idiots’ in Ladakh. And the best part is that I will be shooting with my favourite actor Aamir Khan,” Kareena had told IANS last week.

The actress, however, remained tight-lipped about whether or not she will be sparing some time to be with fellow actor and beau Saif Ali Khan. Kareena has had a rather successful innings in the film industry owing to her selective and varied choice of films ranging from family dramas to comedies and thrillers.

Popular film critic Taran Adarsh said: “Kareena’s forte lies in doing emotional scenes”. Kareena made her debut in 2000 opposite Abhishek Bachchan in J.P. Dutta’s “Refugee” in a no make-up and subdued look and followed it up with the role of a chirpy and bubbly character in “Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai” opposite her good friend Tusshar Kapoor.

Her performance in “Refugee” as Naaz earned her critical acclaim and she received the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for it.

Kareena carving a niche for herself in Bollywood doesn’t come as a surprise as it seems to be in her genes. She comes from a family of Bollywood stalwarts right from her great grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor, grandfather Raj Kapoor, father Randhir Kapoor, mother Babita and elder sister Karisma Kapoor.

In 2001, Kareena did a variety of films like “Yaadein”, “Ajnabee”, “Asoka”, “Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham” – all of which had her playing distinctive characters. But she witnessed a slump in 2002-03 after doing movies such as “Mujhse Dosti Karoge”, “Jeena Sirf Mere Liye”, “Talaash: The Hunt Begins”, “Khushi”, “Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon” and the four-hour J.P. Dutta war epic “LoC Kargil”.

In early 2004, she bounced back with her role as a prostitute in Sudhir Mishra’s “Chameli”. She also covered up for her two-year slump by doing more serious roles like the one in “Dev”.

Though she did many comedies and thrillers, Kareena made it big with films like Vishal Bharadwaj’s “Omkara” and Imtiaz Ali’s comedy-romance “Jab We Met” opposite Shahid Kapur.

But critics’ expectations were soon crushed with her latest film “Tashan” that bombed at the box office. But Adarsh differs. “I don’t think ‘Tashan’ was a bad film for Kareena since her performance was very good in that too. I think she is a brilliant actress and looks superb on screen,” he said.

Now the actress has a bevy of films lined up for release including “Roadside Romeo”, “Golmaal Returns”, “Kambakth Ishq”, “Main Aur Mrs. Khanna”, and “Three Idiots”.

Apart from her acting , her personal life has also made much news. Kareena had a three-year relationship with Shahid Kapur, which ended last year. She then started dating Saif after love blosommed on the sets of “Tashan”.