Kareena Kapoor on how mom Babita had to take on responsibility as dad Randhir Kapoor’s career slumped: ‘Till Karisma came into films…’

Kareena Kapoor Khan comes from the iconic Kapoor Khandan, which is often referred to as ‘first family of Hindi cinema.’ Despite coming from an illustrious family, Kareena shared how her mother, Babita Kapoor, from a more modest background, instilled in her and sister Karisma Kapoor a sense of financial responsibility and humility. In a recent interview, Kareena discussed her mother’s influence on their upbringing and how they dealt with her father Randhir Kapoor’s career slump.

During her conversation on Mid-Day, Kareena shared details of her mother’s background and how she kept them humble. She said, “I don’t really remember whether money was important growing up, but it was always important to get nice clothes. But I wasn’t working and my mom kept telling me to get a job. She told me prepare myself if I want to be an actor and take on the challenge. ‘When you become an actor have your money,’ she told me. She has always told me to stand on my feet and that I can’t rely on my parents. Even in my teens it was about bare necessities, basics. That’s how mom was, she came from a humble background. My nana, Hari Shivdasani, was a character actor and my grandmother was English. She never really did a job. So, mom was very humble. Till today she keeps us in check.”

Kareena’s father, Randhir Kapoor, was a notable figure in the film industry, known for his distinct acting style and roles in memorable films like Raampur Ka Lakshma, Jawani Diwani, Hamrahi, Haath Ki Safai, Mama Bhanja, Heeralal Pannalal and more. However, his career faced challenges in the 1980s, impacting his family, particularly his wife Babita and daughters Kareena and Karisma.

Advertisement

When asked about the impact of her father’s career struggles, Kareena explained that she was quite young at the time. She said, “I was too young, he didn’t work as much and maybe that’s why my mom had to take on stuff and figure out odds and ends to bring up the girls till Karisma came into the movies. But my father did some work, he directed two-three films. He also had a sporadic kind of career. He was more about loving and living life and a lot of that is my personality. He is funny, warm, social. He likes meeting people. Hundreds of people meet him and not one will have anything wrong to say about my father because that’s just his nature. He is such a loved person and I think he gave time to all of that side of life.”

Also read | When Randhir Kapoor said he ‘worked really hard’ to pay for Kareena Kapoor’s school fees and his scotch

On the work front, Kareena’s latest film, The Buckingham Murders, premiered as the opening film at the Jio MAMI Film Festival 2023. She also has projects such as The Crew and Singham Again in pipeline.

Click for more updates and latest Bollywood news along with Entertainment updates. Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the world at The Indian Express.