People
Kareena Kapoor on her style statements, Delhi’s style quotient, her cinema and Saif Ali Khan
| Spring/Summer 2012
Bebo’s
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Style Secrets
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areena Kapoor is leaning against her vanity van in a Mumbai film studio, her shoulders slumped, her slim figure clad in a flowing red gown. Her boyfriend, actor Saif Ali Khan is standing next to her, animatedly speaking with her. What are they discussing? Perhaps, the pair of sexy boots that he just got her? Or, perhaps, a movie they are considering together? Her porcelain face does not betray what she is thinking. “She has the attitude of a natural born star,” says a photographer who is hanging around to do some pictures. “She looks through you most times unless, of course, she wants to talk to you.” ‘ For Kareena, life beyond movies is unfathomable. Considered among the most stylish women in India, the actress says she loves “dressing up”. She’s obviously worked those inches off. By all accounts, Kareena is in the best shape today. “My trainer, Yasmin Karachiwala, has designed a fitness programme that combines weight training, power yoga and pilates. We train every day. It’s weights one day, and yoga and pilates the next. Yasmin has seen me from my fattest to my skinniest.” Here is her take on style, on the right weight to be and on everything else she can think about:
Her formal look includes beautiful cocktail saris, gowns and dresses. “But I also wear nice looking kurtas with jeans. I like colour in my wardrobe --- orange, pink, turquoise, the more vibrant, the better.” A proponent of using very little make-up, she says, “when I do, it is always M.A.C products or YSL. I am very careful about my beauty regime. I take good care of my skin and wash my face at least four or five times a day. After that, I apply a moisturiser. On most days, I just put on a hint of lipstick and dash of eyeliner when I am going out.”
On style Like the ultra-thin Victoria Beckham, whom Kareena admires, the actress is considered the ultimate style icon. Look at her old pictures – once, she almost always wore kurtis with jeans or salwar kameezes, even to the most high profile 4 events. Now, it is about glamorous gowns, beautiful watches, Hermès Birkin bags and sequinned saris. “I like Posh Spice’s look and style,” she admits. “I like that lean body and the chiselled face. She has got style and she’s got the attitude.” Kareena often combines high street brands, like Zara, among her favourite, with her haute couture pieces. “I dress for comfort at most times, but when I am stepping out and know all eyes will be on me, I make sure that I am dressed well,” she says. On the days when she is just lounging at home or lunching with her girlfriends, Kareena wears her all-time favourite faded blue denims. “I am so fond of my old jeans that when I do pick up a new pair, I store them in my closet for a few years, or at least till I feel that they are old enough to wear.”
On cinema Among one of the biggest actors in India, she, along with Vidya Balan, commands a over ` 2 crore pay packet for each film. “I charge what I deserve,” says Kareena. “When you sign me you get glamour and performance.” Though she comes from a film family, the actress says she had to struggle a bit to get where she is today. “You think only girls, who come from outside Mumbai to make it big in the industry, have to struggle for their existence? Remember all those times when my films flopped and everyone wrote me off? There is this constant pressure to deliver. People love underdogs who make it big, but I hope they understand that it’s not easy for star kids.”
On Delhi’s style quotient “It is interesting in its own sort of way, though not experimental. Women really dress well in Delhi,” she says, “especially the younger girls, who have the body and the attitude. I find a lot of interesting styles flaunted on the streets of south Delhi.” How thin is too thin Over the past year, Kareena has gone from her previous size zero to a rather respectable size now, though she is obviously much slimmer then what she was when she first started out in the movies. “I have been working on putting on some weight,” she says. “I am a Punjabi girl, I like my food. Now, I am a size 4. I think the weight loss suits me. My features stand out sharper, especially in photographs.”
| Spring/Summer 2012
By Alyssandra Mendonca Photograph by Harsh Man Rai
On Saif Ali Khan “Our relationship is one that exists between equals. Saif is mature, he has seen much more than me. What I like is his honesty. And his sense of humour. I’ve always been emotionally insecure. I crave affection.”
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