If you want a 100-rupees-crore ($20-million-dollar) hit in Bollywood, don't worry about your leading man — just put Kareena Kapoor in your film. And if you're looking to add edge and sizzle, look no further than Katrina Kaif.
After a string of big blockbusters, Kapoor has earned herself the nickname "The 100 Crore Heroine" as part of a formula for success. While I strongly believe that most Bollywood films are sold on the hero, Kapoor is one of the heroines out there solidly delivering hits and making a hot commodity of herself. Kaif is also another actress who's turned herself into hot-commodity heroine right now in an industry of heroes.
Bollywood heroines can fly under the radar as far as the marketing goes (see how often heroines feature front-and-center on promotional posters as opposed to heroes), but heroines can still make or break a film. These two leading ladies are going above and beyond to make it known that they are box office forces all on their own.
Kareena Kapoor
With her infectious smile and a dose of zany fun, Kareena Kapoor, nicknamed Bebo, has a versatility that makes her a valuable actress. In her 11-year career, she has convincingly run the gamut from a mute ("Chup Chup Ke" [Quietly]) to a medical student ("3 Idiots") to a third-century B.C. princess ("Asoka"). And she's done it all with a spunk that makes a star.
Her background doesn't hurt either. Kapoor hails from the Kapoor family, one of Bollywood's prominent film families with a history stretching back to the 1920s. Kapoor's relationship with actor Saif Ali Khan — a relationship cited as India's "Brangelina" — also seems to generate an endless amount of hype as to if and when the two will ever get married.
Kapoor holds huge successes under her belt, from 2009's "3 Idiots," the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time; this summer's "Bodyguard," which shattered opening records and has come quite close to the "3 Idiots" records; and 2010's "Golmaal 3," the second highest-grossing film of that year. Before that, she was the secondary heroine in 2001's "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" [Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow], another blockbuster that was one of the highest grossing films of the 2000s.
After playing leading lady to Salman Khan in "Bodyguard," Kapoor is set to take on the other two of Bollywood's three big Khans — no mean feat for any actress — in quick succession. She's the heroine alongside Shahrukh Khan in the much-hyped and much-anticipated film "Ra.One" releasing next week and also of an upcoming but untitled 2012 film with Aamir Khan, whom she starred alongside in "3 Idiots." That's not to mention her upcoming film "Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu" [One Me and One You] with Imran Khan and film "Agent Vinod" with domestic partner, Saif Ali Khan.
Kapoor is out to conquer Bollywood's Khans and the box office.
Katrina Kaif
If Kareena Kapoor comes from one of Bollywood's first families, Katrina Kaif is her opposite, hailing from anything but Bollywood establishment. Born to a British mother and Indian father (a fact under dispute), she was raised around the globe before becoming a model, which eventually brought her to Mumbai. Kaif made her debut in Hindi cinema without speaking Hindi — she was featured in several films that had her voice dubbed by someone else.
But Kaif nonetheless has conquered the Bollywood arena in her own way. One was her widely publicized relationship with Salman Khan, known for his tumultuous relationships, that ended earlier this year.
Another is her success with the item song, which I defined in a previous post. Despite the fact that the film "Tees Maar Khan" didn't meet box-office expectations, Kaif's item song, "Sheila Ki Jawani" [Sheila's Youth], became a super hit that set the bar for item songs. Since then, Kaif has become nearly synonymous with sex appeal in Bollywood.
One of the great and unique things about Kaif is that she's nowhere near afraid of playing with the boys. She took a role in the multi-hero film "Raajneeti" [Politics], another of 2010's top-grossing films. This summer, she was the female lead in the hit "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" [You Won't Live Life Twice], a film about three men's friendship in which Kaif plays a woman who lives on the edge and teaches the heroes a thing or two about how to savor life. More recently, she was the central character of the film "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" [My Brother's Bride], upstaging the film's two male leads as a punk-rock tomboy.
And like Kapoor, Kaif is looking forward to her own Khan-conquering. She's currently filming for "Ek Tha Tiger" with former boyfriend Salman Khan; is set to star with Aamir Khan in "Dhoom 3," whose predecessor "Dhoom 2" was once the highest-grossing Bollywood film; and will be the heroine of a yet-untitled film with Shahrukh Khan in 2012. Starring in films with all three of the big Khans brings Kaif far from the days of struggling to even speak Hindi.
Both Kaif and Kapoor have shown the Bollywood world that they're heroines to be reckoned with, and I expect each to rattle the box office in the days to come.
Posts in The Filmi Gator appear on Mondays.
