She was written off because of the colour of her eyes. Strangely enough, six years, after her debut, Karisma Kapoor has become the box-office's blue-eyed girl. And now, her azure eyes though not exceptionally beautiful like the rest of her are turning other actresses green with envy. Her latest coup: she has been signed by Sooraj Barjatya the director with the Midas touch for Rajashree Productions' latest film, Hum Saath Saath Hain. Another feather in a cap that is already choc-a-bloc with hits, awards and Bollywood's best banners. this without a single thought to strategy. Karisma claims she is a product of serendipity, happenstance and plain luck. But a closer look at her career reveals a strategy that belies her age. For a start, she entered Bollywood when she was still a teen-ager. A clever move, since the working years of an actress' life are limited to a decade. This headstart gave her more time to chase celebrity should it elude her. Karisma was 16 when Prem Qaidi, her first film, was releasedand she looked every inch the gauche school girl that she was. The movie was a surprise hit and Karisma's enthusiastically executed jhatkas catapulted her to the limelight. Despite criticism for her unabashed gyrations, she makes no apologies. In fact, her attitude is: Whatever gets you to the top, it's alright. "It is nice to be remembered for one particular thing. My dancing is that one thing for me. All my movies have had jhatkas and they will remain in my future movies," she says, proudly.
In fact her gyrations just speeded up. And together with co-gyrator, Govinda, she danced her way to the top in 1994 and 1995 with movies like Raja Babu and Coolie No 1. The `Sexy, sexy' controversy of Khuddar, again opposite Govinda, added to her popularity with the front benchers. They thronged theatres to whistle at her unabashed undulations.Producers too were forced to queue up outside her door Karisma now featured among the top three actresses. And she was enjoying every minute of it. "I became greedy then, soI signed a lot of movies, even though my parents advised me against it," she says, honestly. And though she is only 22 now, she already has 40 releases to her name. "To be honest, I am slowing down, I have become more selective," she says. And `to be honest' seems like a pet phrase she uses to inject sincerity. So, she tells you "honestly" that Chinese and Italian are her favourite cuisine and, that "honestly" she likes to sleep.
Not that she has much time for that. In 1996, the reigning queens of Bollywood, Manisha and Madhuri, woke up to the fact that Karisma had become serious competition. Till then, though she was a bankable name, she was dismissed as a heroine for the masses. Her appeal was common and only for the lowest common denominator. Raja Hindustani, released in 1996, with its regressive plot became a hit in the lines of Sholay and Maine Pyar Kiya. But more surprising than the box-office collections was Karisma's makeover gone were the thick, badly-done eyebrows, carelessly smeared lipstickand frizzy hair. Instead, you had a polished, perfectly turned-out Karisma. A marvel of modern make-up. But she denies that, fiercely shaking her head to make her point. "It wasn't sudden. I was a girl when I joined Bollywood and then I became a lady. It was a growing up process, not a strategy," she says.
Whatever it was, it worked. Raja Hindustani was followed by Ajay in late 1996. And 1997 was her year exclusively, with one runaway hit after another Hero No 1, Judwaa and Dil To Pagal Hai. The Yash Chopra film won her awards and high praise from that elusive band of critics. Her coup: Most people preferred her performance over Madhuri Dixit's. Though Karisma is diplomatic about that, she cannot repress her delight, "I grew up watching Madhuri and admire her a lot, so it feels good that people liked my performance." She is equally ambiguous about being called Heroine No 1. "Though competition is necessary, I don't really believe in the numbers game. But just the fact that people are saying it, means somuch," she says.Her future plan, though she reiterates that there is no specific one, is to do more of the same. Success does have a formula and Karisma seems to have zeroed onto it. She doesn't have too many interests besides movies and her room, strewn with fashion magazines and cosmetics, "all work-related things", speaks of her fixation. She knows her assets and polishes them diligently. For each film, she works out her look with her designer Manish Malhotra, rolls out the jhatkas to a new beat each time and sticks to masala movies. But each time her role is different. So, while Aarti of Raja Hindustani was a traditional Bharatiya nari, Nisha of Dil To Pagal Hai was a '90s girl. And in the soon-to-be-released Biwi No 1 she plays a wife whose husband strays and she has to get him back.
Though she keeps up a steady spiel on about her career, she reveals nothing about her personal life. She doesn't like talking about her parent's marriage or her alleged liaison with Abhishek Bachchan. She insists thatshe has had it tough as an actress even though the RK's are Bollywood's first family. She's right. Unlike other star children, the family banner did not launch her. Not that it bothers her. "The toughest is yet to come for me, as is the best," says Karisma, confidently.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
