Kapoor, is facing neck-to-neck competition for the ‘Leading Role Female’ actress award at the 12th Annual International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) ceremony scheduled to be held in Toronto June 23-25.
Apart from Bollywood’s other top two beauties – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif – Kapoor is also facing tough rivalry from Vidya Balan and newcomer Anushka Sharma.

Kapoor has been nominated for her unusual tomboyish character in Rohit Shetty’s romantic comedy thriller Golmaal 3.

The film’s earlier two serials were also hits at the box office and liked all around the world for its different but extraordinary comedy.

Kapoor played the lead role in the movie against Bollywood star Ajay Devgn supported by evergreen disco dancer Mithun Chakraborty, Arshad Warsi, Sharman Joshi, Tushar Kapoor, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Kunal Khemu, Sanjay Mishra, Ratna Pathak and Ashwini Khalsekar.

Born into the famous Kapoor family, Kareena is the daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita and sister of all-time hot and sexy Karishma Kapoor.

She made her acting debut in the 2000 film Refugee and since then has achieved as many as six Filmfare Awards.

Recently Kareena outsmarted hot actresses like Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra to win Stardust’s 2011 sexiest woman title.

However, in the race for the prestigious IIFA Award for the ‘leading female role’, Kapoor is facing tough competition from megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter-in-law and former Miss Universe Aishwarya Rai, for her classic role in Guzaarish, and former sexiest woman Katrina Kaif for her character in Ranjeeti.

Newcomer Anushka Sharma, who worked with superstar Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, poses yet another threat for Kareena, for Sharma has also been nominated for her masti-filled lead role in Band Baaja Baaraat released in December 2010.

Produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Maheesh Sharma, Band Baaja Baaraat is full of mauj, masti and dhamaal. Anushka Sharma plays a 20-year graduate and ambitious girl who wants to start her own wedding planning business.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who once again appeared with Hrithik Roshan in Bhansali’s extremely emotional and heart-breaking film Guzaarish, is the biggest threat for Kareena Kapoor. Rai played a truly classic and very special role.

In Guzaarish, she was seen as the nurse of Hrithik Roshan, a magician who becomes a quadriplegic when a trick goes wrong.

But Kareena Kapoor stays the front-runner as one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities, and her performances have always raised her to establish her as a style icon for young girls and women. This should be one interesting race.

Life is hectic for Kareena Kapoor. She doesn’t even have time to meet her family and friends. “I catch up with them on the phone when commuting. It would’ve been nice to spend time with Saif (boyfriend Saif Ali Khan) at Cannes, but I have to shoot for Bodyguard. This year people are fighting for an hour of my time,” admits Kareena, who has three big releases to look forward to this year, starting with Bodyguard this Eid. The Salman Khan-starrer will be followed by the superhero fantasy film RA.One with Shah Rukh Khan that is due to release on October 26.

Her two songs from RA.One Chamak challo… and Shake my booty… have already gained popularity, but she’s quick to point out that, “they’re not item songs. One is desi dhinchak and the other is a sexy, western and groovy track.” And towards the wee end of the year, Kareena’s Bond-Bourne kind of spy thriller with Saif is due.

Agent Vinod was supposed to be a summer release. But according to her, since it’s a big action film, the stunts have taken more time. “I’ll go back to shooting it in July and it should be out by December,” she promises, refuting rumours that the film’s been delayed because she gave her dates to Reema Kagti’s film with Aamir Khan. “They’re canning the action sequences now and don’t need me. The date adjustments were made by Karan (Johar) and Atul (Agnihotri), not Saif. I’d just committed to Karan’s Short Term Shaadi with Imran Khan, when the Aamir film came along in the same week. And these two months were booked for Bodyguard.”

So, what’s it like to a festival girl? “Great!” she beams. “Last Diwali, I had a blockbuster in Golmaal 3 and then, 3 Idiots brought along plenty of Christmas cheer. Hopefully, both Eid and Diwali will be big this year with Salman and Shah Rukh. I don’t mind being No. 100 on any power list as long as I top the film lists with the best banners. And on that count, 2011 is special!”

This year’s top festival Bollywood releases
Eid
Bodyguard: The action movie by Siddique is a remake of his own Malayalam film. It will see Salman Khan playing the role of a bodyguard.

Diwali
Ra.One: The science-fiction superhero film by Anubhav Sinha will feature Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal as super heroes.

Pre X’mas
Agent Vinod: The action-thriller story of a spy has been produced by Saif Ali Khan and directed by Sriram Raghavan. It also stars Kareena Kapoor.

Christmas
Don 2: This is Farhan Akhtar’s sequel to his 2006 film. Apart from SRK, it stars Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra.

Newbie Zoa Morani is set for a tryst with Bollywood in Shah Rukh Khan’s production, Always Kabhi Kabhi and she has left no stone unturned to make a rollicking debut. Zoa is geared up to don a sultry avatar for a song and nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, who has worked with Kareena Kapoor, inform Zoa was “very impressed” with how Kareena achieved a healthy and toned figure. Says Rujuta: “She looks up to Kareena when it comes to fitness because she has seen Bebo eating and still maintaining a perfect body. In fact, Kareena is one of the reasons why Zoa wanted to achieve a fit body.”

Around the time Zoa shot the song in Goa, she gorged on a lot of local delicacies. “And I think that’s the reason she looks very fresh in the song,” says Rujuta. “If your taste buds and stomach are happy, it will show on your face and body.”

So, during the song’s shoot, Zoa ate Kokam dishes, juices and Xacuti. Although Zoa was kept off salt for a few days around the shoot, Rujuta feels it’s not directly linked to her toned body.

Zoa says, “It was very tough because I love food a lot, but the hard work paid off. So it was worth it.” According to Rujuta, Zoa has been working hard on her body for a year. “Earlier, Zoa was working as an assistant director. And as ADs, you eat all sorts of things. But she was very keen to get in shape and followed all my instructions,” she says.

Check out Kareena Kapoor on the cover of third anniversary issue of the fashion magazine Grazia. Although Kareena couldn’t make it to the launch of the issue, as the beautiful actress is busy shooting for Agent Vinod with Saif Ali Khan, Kareena was gracious enough to “send her best wishes”.

Kareena Kapoor features on the cover of the third anniversary issue of the fashion magazine ‘Grazia’
If you are wondering if this is the first time that Kareena has been on the cover of Grazia, you are mistaken. Take a look at this old 2009 cover, where Kareena appeared in a strikingly strange avatar on the cover of the same magazine. Well, the only thing we can say about Kareena is that she is one of the most stylish of Bollywood actresses, be it her love for handbags or her choice of the best dresses.

It is no wonder then that Kareena is working with all the three Khans this year – in Ra.One with Shah Rukh Khan, in Bodyguard with Salman Khan and in Reema Kagti’s next film with Aamir Khan!

The beautiful Kapoor is also being considered to play Akshay Kumar’s moll in the Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel!

The meeting organised by the Russian Embassy was to encourage and improve cultural relations with Bollywood.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has Bollywood on his agenda. During the course of his visit to Mumbai, he met a delegation of filmmakers at Yash Raj Films Studio in Andheri on Wednesday. The meeting organised by the Russian Embassy was to encourage and improve cultural relations with Bollywood.

Apart from Yash Chopra, Amit Khanna, chairman of Reliance Big Entertainment, Ramesh Sippy, Rakesh Roshan, Mukesh Bhatt, Randhir Kapoor, Manmohan Shetty, Puneet Goenka of Zee were also present. During the relatively short meeting, the Russian delegation managed to strike a chord with Bollywood’s big guns.

According to Amit Khanna, “The idea was to explore co-productions, shooting in each other’s countries, furthering cultural ties with entertainment. It’s good to see the Russian President himself initiating this consolidation of cultural relationships.”

Rakesh Roshan said, “The Russian president committed a one-window facility for us to visit his country for shooting, promoting and marketing our films,” he enthused. Medvedev also dropped in at the sets of Shah Rukh Khan’s superhero fantasy, RA.One. The actor did a little jig with Kareena Kapoor for the President. “It was a nice and amicable meeting. He also complimented on the important role music plays in our films,” Kapoor said

Actor Kareena Kapoor will soon be among the few lucky Bollywood actors who have had books written on them. Only the top rung actors of Bollywood such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have had a few books written on them The book on Kareena will be penned by author Shobhaa De and will talk about

Kareena’s successful journey as a Bollywood actor.
“Kareena has a pretty unique positioning in the movie industry. She is in a league of her own… not one amongst the herd. I like her spunk and individuality. The book is definitely not a biography of Kareena as she is way too young for that!” says De, adding, “Kareena and I have been in talks. And I hope to close the deal soon. I am very excited about the project. ”

Interestingly, Shobhaa and Kareena have met several times to discuss the project, and Kareena, who was last seen in Rohit Shetty’s 2010 release Golmaal 3, is seemingly excited about the same too.

The book will reportedly be on the lines of an acclaimed book based on Victoria Beckham.

It will trace how Kareena Kapoor became the brand she is.

It will also talk about her sense of style, her influences, her idols and how she has become a name in Bollywood to reckon with.

Bollywood beauties Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are in the run for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s fun, fearless awards, to be held in Mumbai Saturday.

The three actresses are competing in Fun, Fearless Female All Time Reader’s Choice Award this year.

Other categories include – Fun, Fearless Power Couple award, for which the nominees are – Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan; Hrithik Roshan-Sussanne Khan and Arbaaz Khan-Malaika Arora Khan.

There is also a Fun, Fearless Male 2010 Reader’s Choice Award, and Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Arjun Rampal are competing for the title in this category.

The event, in its third edition now, takes place annually in India, Britain and the US.

“The Fun, Fearless Female Awards is a cult, one-of-its-kind event that celebrates all that’s iconic of the Cosmo woman – her attitude, drive, and the never-say-never spirit,” Nandini Bhalla, editor of Cosmopolitan, said in a press statement.

The organisers are expecting a star-studded turnout at the event Saturday at the Taj Land’s End, Mumbai.

“The response has been tremendous – from readers, Bollywood favourites, and the industry. The Fun Fearless Awards are a pat on the back to women (and some special men) from different areas of life-acting, music, theatre, and more.

“Last year’s awards saw a great turnout – Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, and more. And this year’s awards promise to be bigger, better, and more Cosmo than ever,” said Mala Sekhri, chief operating officer, Lifestyle Magazines, India Today Group.

Year 2010 had not been a great year for Bebo with only one mediocre hit ‘Golmaal 3′ and two flops, ‘We Are Family’ and ‘Milenge Milenge’, but with five big projects set to hit the screens this year, 2011 definitely holds lot of promises for Kareena Kapoor. While ‘Ra.One’ with Shah Rukh Khan is the biggest of all, there is also ‘Bodyguard’ with ‘Dabangg’ star Salman Khan. Close to the actress’ heart is ‘Agent Vinod’ with beau Saif Ali Khan and the next is with Imran Khan in ‘Short Term Shaadi’. Kapoor girl is also excited about the psychological thriller with Aamir Khan which is still in a raw state.
“There has been a conscious call to pick different genres from the films that excite me most. Earlier also I have done films like ‘Omkara’ and ‘Chameli’ which weren’t exactly mainstream,” says Kareena.
Kareena Kapoor is also leading the endorsement world with 14 brands under her. She has recently snatched her third international brand right away from Priyanka chopra’s kitty. The brand is looking for iconic, aspirational and youth centric elements, which combine nicely in Kareena personality. A special skilled team is flying down from London to shoot the ad with her.

Kareena Kapoor is on cloud nine. She is working on three films with the top three actors of Bollywood Salman Khan (My Love Story), Aamir Khan (Reema Kagti’s untitled next) and Shah Rukh Khan (RA.One).

All three films are lined up for release this year. Added to this, Kareena will also be seen in Short Term Shaadi with Imran Khan, in Agent Vinod with her boyfriend Saif Ali Khan and finally in Rohit Shetty’s remake of Angoor with Shah Rukh.

The list is truly an exhaustive one. A friend of Bebo’s says, “2011 will be Kareena’s most challenging year. But more importantly, the total value of all these films amounts to nearly Rs 300 crore.

No doubt all the films have A-lister heroes, but that she has been cast as the female lead in all of them, proves that filmmakers consider her to be a very dependable proposition, commercially.”

When contacted, Kareena said, “I cannot comment on the logistics or the economics of a film. That’s up to the filmmakers to comment on.

I have always associated myself with quality cinema and anything that has quality has great value attached to it. I will not put a price to my work but I know my value.” And now, so do we.

Kareena Kapoor began the New Year with a bang. She has a lot to offer to her fans this year as she is all set to explore five new films with the Khans.

Her upcoming projects comprise of “Ra One” with Shah Rukh Khan, “Bodyguard” with Salman Khan, “Agent Vinod” with beau Saif, an untitled psychological film with Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan and “Short Term Shaadi” opposite chocolate boy Imran Khan.

Kareena told “There has been a conscious call to pick different genres from the films that excite me most.”

The actress said further, “Earlier also I have done films like ‘Omkara’ and ‘Chameli’ which weren’t exactly mainstream.”

She said further, “Last year’s ‘We Are Family’ was a difficult role. Now, 2011 would have a mix of different subjects and films as well.”

Kareena added “Festive seasons are pretty much working for me. Now on Eid comes ‘Bodyguard’ and then in Diwali it would be ‘Ra.One’.”

She said, “I am sure my lucky stint with festivals would continue in 2011 as well.”