As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2020)

My first shot was for Aakhri Mughal. Both Abhishek Bachchan and I were to make our debuts in the film and I remember how scared I was to have Amitabh Bachchan on the set, watching us give our first take. I kept asking Abhishek to make him leave and he would say exasperatedly, “He is my father, how can I ask him to go!”

I wasn’t sure if I could act when J P Dutta and Jaya Bachchan approached me with the film. I couldn’t say “no” to them. But I’ve to admit, I was really happy when Aakhri Mughal was shelved! Yes, I know I’m a bit of a weirdo, I always have been one.

By the time Ajnabee came along, I was bored with modelling. Vijay Galani wondered if I would meet director duo Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla for a role in their film. I agreed, but was afraid they wouldn’t converse in English. On meeting them, I realised they were scared that a model wouldn’t speak Hindi. But we immediately liked each other. I didn’t watch a lot of films back then, but the suspense-thriller seemed like a very international film to me. And they were shooting in Switzerland, so I signed on thinking that at least I’d get to travel. I went with that intention; not to act.

Luckily, everyone on the set was very fond of me. Abbas bhai, Mustan bhai, Bobby (Deol) and his wife Tanya, Akshay (Kumar) all were very protective of me and got me an entourage of my own. My hairstylist had worked with Manisha Koirala earlier and was quite scandalized by my behaviour. She’d tell me that as an actor I should drink alcohol only in cups so that no one found out and not wear backless dresses. I remember the look on her face when I applied coconut oil on my body and sunbathed as opposed to actresses who slathered themselves with sunscreen and insisted on moving around under an umbrella. In fact, she was aghast when I told everyone that I had a boyfriend.

My first scene in the film was the one when neighbours Priya (Kareena Kapoor) and Sonia (my character) meet for the first time while jogging and strike up a conversation. It went off really well and my directors told me I was a natural actor. And I thought to myself, “Wow, so this is acting…I can do it!” Despite it being a negative role in a film way ahead of its time, it still fetched me a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; December 23, 2019)

As actors, it’s taken them a few years to reunite on the big screen. As friends, they’ve stuck it out all these years. He’s a part of her inner circle, and they have both seen each other grow from strength to strength. Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan share a cool connection that dates back to the time when they were both not the movie stars they are today, which is evident in the way they play the urban chic Batras in Raj Mehta’s Good Newwz. Ahead of the film’s release, they spoke to BT about their deep connect, taking risky choices, and why it was essential to make a film on a subject like IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). Excerpts...

Good Newwz is your 10th film together as lead actors in the last 20 years. Do you remember the first time you two met?
Kareena: I was there when he gave his first shot. Lolo (Karisma Kapoor) was the heroine of Deedar (1992), which they were shooting together. That day, I had come from school to Poonawala Bungalow at Madh Island, where they were filming. It was almost 30 years ago, and I was all of nine. I’ve known him since then.
Akshay: Actually, we’ve met even before that. We were doing a photo-shoot in her building, Excellency, in Lokhandwala. I was trying my best to come into the industry at that time, and was not even an actor. It’s like literally saying, ‘Once upon a time when I met Kareena Kapoor…’

Akshay, how would you assess Kareena’s rise as an actor from the time she started out two decades ago, to now, when she’s making daring choices, and pushing the envelope like never before?
Akshay: Kareena is like wine that gets better with every passing year.
Kareena: Cuts in… Says the man who has never tasted wine! I know what wine tastes like because I have it. He doesn’t have all this (laughs!).
Akshay: Main aisa bhi doodh ka dhula nahi hoon! (laughs!) I have tasted wine.
Kareena: If you insist! But I only see you having doodh, nuts and sprouts all the time. That’s all he eats.
Akshay: On a serious note, I remember the first song that I shot with her for Ajnabee (2001) at Ramoji Rao Studios (Hyderabad). At that time, she didn’t know what camera angles were and how things worked. She was supposed to seduce me in the song in a tiny nightie. I was protective of her as she was very naïve. And now, she knows camera angles so well that the camera romances her. She will do everything to get a shot right. The kind of face she has and the way it attracts the camera is amazing. But yeh iski wajah se nahi hai. It’s because of her parents (laughs!). Sometimes, when I’m watching my own films that feature her, main isko dekhna chahta hoon. From the way she looks, I think she can never play a hero’s mother or the typical maa ke roles. I also like the fact that she has defied the belief that married actresses don’t get work in this industry. She did that with the to-hell-with-you-guys attitude.
Kareena: I don’t have to worry about anything as long as I have a career like Akshay Kumar’s.
Akshay: Bebo has played roles on her own terms. She has always been a risk-taker. Some of them have paid dividends and some haven’t. Like Ajnabee, our first film together, was about wife-swapping, which was a novel concept in Bollywood. Our next is about sperm swapping, also a new idea. Ab aur kya kya swap hoga pata nahi!

Kareena, if you had to analyse Akshay’s journey from the time when he was your sister Karisma’s colleague to now, when he’s paired with you, what would you say?
Kareena: I’ve known him from the time when all of us lived in Lokhandwala. Having seen him from the time when he gave his first shot for a film, to now, it’s been an amazing journey. My mother (Babita) took to him from the time she first got to know him. Even now, each time there is an Akshay Kumar film in theatres, she watches it with her bunch of friends. Although she has a take on other films, she’s biased towards his movies. For her, he is a son, and family to all of us. Akshay’s path has been his own and he can credit that to no one, but himself. He made all the choices with the belief that he will become the star that he is today, and he did it with dedication. He proved everyone wrong and today, along with stardom he’s regarded as a fine actor. Saif (Ali Khan), Lolo, mom — we all love him. We have a relationship that goes beyond the meets-and-greets and photo-ops. It’s unexplained, unwritten and beautiful.
Akshay: There’s a little story that I want to tell. So, we were shooting Talaash: The Hunt Begins (2003) at Ras al Khaimah many years ago. My wife Tina (Twinkle Khanna) was two months pregnant at that time. We had to go across a water body and while getting on to a boat, I carried Babita aunty in my arms. Aaj tak meri biwi sunati hai, ‘You carried Babita aunty and you didn’t carry me at that time!’ (Laughs!)



Five-seven years ago, would you both have imagined that you would headline a film like Good Newwz that explores the subject of IVF?
Akshay: If a film like Good Newwz had come my way even 15 years ago, I would have done it. The thing is, in those days, neither was I a producer nor were people writing such strong and socially relevant stories with a funny vein. I was just an actor then, and I didn’t have the money to back films. Agar mere paas itne paise tab hote, to maine aisi picturein bahut pehle banana shuru kar diya hota. I would have loved to back a film like Ajnabee or Aitraaz as a producer. These films were made 15 years ago, and they offered a unique spin on man-woman relationships, infidelity, and wife-swapping. I would jump at these scripts and so would Kareena. People didn’t have the guts to do something new. When I became a producer, I made it my one-point agenda to look for relevant subjects that people don’t want to speak about.
Kareena: I just feel that choices make a very big difference. After Taimur was born, I was reading scripts and Veere Di Wedding (2018) came back to my table. While offering the film, Rhea (Kapoor, producer) had told me, ‘I know you won’t do it because there are three other girls in the film, but hear it at least.’ When I was at the interval point in the narration, I was clear that I would do it and I told her so. You need to change your mindset and move with the times. We’ve seen dynamics being discussed with the bro-code in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and other such films, but no one had ever spoken of sisterhood among women. It was cool for a mainstream, commercial actress to back the film.

When a film revolves around a sensitive subject like IVF, words like sperm, eggs and ovulation find their way into a script. Is it true that when the Good Newwz trailer was played out on a show, the makers beeped out the word, ‘sperm’?
Akshay: Yes, it happened and it’s sad. We recently went on a show to promote Good Newwz where the trailer was played, and the word ‘sperm’ was beeped out. They didn’t beep out egg, which the girls (Kareena and Kiara Advani) use frequently in the trailer. I was forced to ask, ‘Kaun bewakoof hai jisne yeh kiya hai? Maine koi gaali nahi di hai. Maine wahi shabd bola hai jiski paidaish woh khud hai.’ People should stop beeping out words and asking us to tone down things unless necessary. Beep kyun kar rahe ho? Sperm, menstruation, pad, egg, orgasm are all real things that happen in our lives. When people sit with friends, they talk about the same things that filmmakers are asked to beep out. That’s not fair!
Kareena: It’s such a brave thing to broach this important subject through a film and it’s been dealt with in a light way. Of course, the story gets its due in the second half and the emotions come to the fore. It comes to a point where women, who are key drivers of this story, take charge. They are the ones carrying the babies and what they think and feel makes a very big difference, in the film, and also in real life.
Akshay: I have seen the entire film and I can say that it entertains and educates. You can take your kids to watch it, too. It’s a film that underlines the technology that has made so many families so happy. So many women, who thought their clock is ticking away and that their careers might have to take a backseat because they ought to have a baby at a certain time, feel relieved. It’s important for everyone to watch this film as it will open your eyes and minds to a great technology.

As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 9, 2018)

I was in school when I landed my first modeling assignment. I had just given my Higher Secondary (Class 12) exams when I was spotted at a five star hotel in Kolkata. Some strangers approached me saying the preliminary rounds of a supermodel contest were coming up and asked me if I’d like to take part. I was a science student and I didn’t know much about modelling. But they urged me saying they were selecting 100 girls from Kolkata and all I needed to do was fill out a form so that’s what I did.

Within a few days, the list of 100 aspiring models had whittled down to 17 and to my surprise, I was one of those shortlisted. We were invited to a cocktail party which would be followed by the final round. I told my parents I was going for a birthday bash and sneaked off. We were asked some questions, I rattled off my replies and returned home, quickly forgetting the whole thing.

But in a week’s time, super model Mehr Jesia called my residence and told my mom that I was one of the three girls selected from the city. She pulled me up for taking part in a contest without telling them and I whined that since it was holidays, I had done it for a lark. The team convinced mom to let me fly to Mumbai, promising her that I would be looked after well and that my family would not be required to make any financial investment. She, in turn, convinced my dad and I dashed off for the finale. To my surprise, I won the contest and was sent to Miami for the international pageant. That was a jolt for my family because they were expecting me to return home in a month and focus on my studies.

I was only 16 and it was my first trip alone abroad. I guess I did something right because I got signed by Ford and started working in New York as a model. I was enjoying the job and didn’t want to give it up. I told my parents I would complete my graduation from an open university later and wanted to continue doing what destiny had planned for me.

Making a name internationally as a model was tough because all the other girls were far better prepped up. They came from modest backgrounds — some European girls had absolutely no money — while my family was well off and I was a little spoilt. So, I made the other girls cook for me while we were living together because I didn’t know how. I couldn’t even open a tin! Also, I had never taken public transport before so I would always get lost. The agency gave me a chaperone who taught me how to take the metro.

When I returned to India after a year, things were tougher as no one remembered me. I was put up in an apartment in Kalina by the organisers. It was a truck drivers’ colony and I was scared to live there. Photographer Farrokh Chothia, my first friend in Mumbai, was disturbed by the fact that I was made to stay in a rough locality like that. I used to leave home early and roam around with a hammer in my bag. Thankfully, I never needed to use it. Farrokh helped me send my pictures to other top photographers and quickly, I started getting work. I used to work late and fall asleep in the cab.

I recall an incident when after a fashion show, I was going home late at night. A bunch of rowdy men started following my car, the cabbie managed to dodge them and got me home safe. Those days, we had pagers and he made me call my PG guardians down to take me home. Eventually, I moved out and into an apartment in Breach Candy which was far safer.

Modelling is a competitive business and tough to break through. Once the senior models at a fashion show asked me and another newbie to get them coffee. My fellow model got up to serve them but I stayed put, telling them to get it themselves. I got ragged a lot because I was a no-nonsense girl. Fortunately, I had some protective friends like choreographers and those who worked backstage who would watch out for me. But senior models wouldn’t let me enter when I got my cue and harass me while I was changing.

The makers of my debut film, Ajnabee, saw me at a Rohit Bal show, and introduced me to director-duo Abbas-Mustan. Before that, Vinod Khanna had offered to launch me in Himalaya Putra with his son Akshaye but I was not interested in movies then. Akshay Kumar and Parmeshwar Godrej had approached me for a movie that time around and I had turned down that offer as well.

I was then to be introduced in J P Dutta’s Aakhri Mughal with Abhishek Bachchan. Jaya ji (Jaya Bachchan) had herself called me and asked me to do the film. I was intimidated by her and said "yes" out of fear of offending her and gave my first shot in front of Mr Amitabh Bachchan but that film didn’t work out. I finally made a beginning in Bollywood with Ajnabee which was ahead of its times and had me in a negative role. I was only 19 then and travelled the world with the film. Everybody from Akshay Kumar to Bobby Deol and their families helped me. Abbas-Mustan are gems and gave me as much attention as the stars. The rest, as they say, is box-office history.

There may have been more than a hint of a message in inviting the man who gave up his Pakistani passport to embrace India to perform in Kashmir, but Adnan Sami laughs that off as easily as he does singing Mehbooba Mehbooba Mehbooba there
Anshul Chaturvedi (BOMBAY TIMES; October 9, 2017)