I’ve still got it, I’m still hot: Kareena Kapoor Khan on authenticity, marriage, parenting and more

Star opened up like never before

Taking centre stage for The Dirty Magazine's latest feature was none other than the iconic and legendary Kareena Kapoor Khan. In a stunning array of images that captured the essence of the superstar, Kareena, unapologetically embraced every aspect of the shoot, sharing insights in a way like never before.

The article itself described Kareena as an "actress" and Bebo, as she is affectionately called, as "an emotion." Talking about the star further, the article read, "[She is] 43 years old, face still capable of non-stop movement, wrinkles etched deep, eye bags heavy, easy in her body, incandescent with confidence and vitality. She owns every inch of her skin, and she’s never looked better."

When questioned about being the hub of gossip in Bollywood, Kareena remarked, “Information just comes to me!” The article then dove deeper, chronicling Kareena's illustrious 23-year journey in Bollywood. It highlighted how the star has traversed the industry's landscape, evolving before the audience's eyes and navigating the relentless media scrutiny with remarkable adaptability. 

The piece also reflected on the size-zero frenzy that engulfed her during the 2000s, a period when the media perpetuated unrealistic beauty standards, with every narrative fixated on how she achieved such a slender physique. That era, marked by what seems like countless ways the media made women feel insecure about their bodies, is now met with Kareena's present-day authenticity - as if she's rewriting the narrative on her own terms.

According to the article, Kareena gains inspiration from the likes of Kate Winslet, Gillian Anderson, and Tabu. “I want to be the only mainstream actor who has the confidence to do this,” said the superstar "with her trademark self-possession," as per the write-up. “Everyone else still wants to look perfect, hot, amazing, this, that. But I now feel that times have changed, and people are ready to accept new things. And they have to accept me like this, exactly the way I am. They have to.” 

Shedding light on her own multifaceted nature, Bebo shared, "Yes I’m a mother-of-two but what the heck I am still bangin’ and doing things on my terms. It’s really boring to do the same thing again and again. This I feel will be special.” Whilst talking about her marriage, she said, “The reason you get married now is that you want to have a child, right? I mean today otherwise, you can just live together. [Saif and I] lived together for five years, so when we took the next step, it was because we wanted to have children.”

When it came to parenting, Kareena highlighted how she believes there is no right or wrong way. “We treat them as individuals, we respect them, and we just let them be," said the actor. "They will figure it out, they will find their own path. Kids are quite resilient, you know.” Furthermore, she said, “I want to live my life in front of my kids, I want to do everything with them. We have to be happy na, then they will flourish. I’m responsible for my own mental health first.”

Talking about her own unwavering conviction, the star said, “I've always been very confident, I don't know why. I have that gumption. I have that drive. Twenty years ago I was making statements like ‘I am the best’. But I feel that's what got so many people to believe in me. I have no regrets.” Adding on to the same, Kareena revealed, “I'm the kind of person that the more you know me, you know that I can't be fake...I’m too transparent, what I think or feel is just there on my face. I don't know any other way. Because I have never bothered about what people say. I really don't care.”

She further shared, “Now especially, actors have to keep saying something or the other. I can’t. I just cut off. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lasted this long, I would have just wilted in this competition, this pressure, the comparison of this look and that look, now so-and-so’s on the rise and I have to look young, so-and-so is doing this or that brand or is a global face. I can’t. I'm done.”

Opening up about her emotional side, Kareena said, “I'm very attached to my family, my kids, my husband, my five friends. That's it. That's my life. I need my people. My spot boy has been with me from my first shot. People who come into my world, I don't let them go and they don't leave. That’s why I'm not at every single party. I don't feel the need to be doing that. Being at parties, making friends, socialising. I don't want to.”

Capping off the conversation, the inimitable superstar said, “You have to find yourself, you know, find your individuality. Find that one thing you want to own about yourself and never lose it...Y’all are still saying that I should be on the cover of Dirty, na? That means there has to be something that's kept this chick going. I’ve still got it, I’m still hot.”

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