NEW
DELHI:
She
hit
the
silver
screen
somewhere
in
the
mid-nineties
with
'Prem
Qaidi',
and
the
rest
has
been
cinematic
history.
Karishma
put
aside
the
family
tradition
of
women
staying
out
of
the
industry,
and
with
a
series
of
brilliant
performances
over
the
years,
from
romance
to
comedy
to
social
and
serious
roles,
showed
that
she
was
as
good
as
Raj
or
Prithviraj.
Taking
on
a
challenging
role,
away
from
the
mainstream,
has
always
been
welcomed,
eagerly
looked
forward
to.
"What
I
like
to
do,
what
inspires
me,
gives
me
creative
satisfaction,
I'd
like
to
do
those
kinds
of
roles
and
films.
Like
when
I
did
Fiza
and
Zubeida,
people
were
saying
why
are
you
doing
this.
But
that
is
the
reason
why
I
want
to
do
it.
When
you
are
in
a
good
position
you
should
do
all
these
roles,
not
later.
I
was
lucky
to
get
title
roles.
So
why
shouldn't
I
do
it
now.
I
want
to
grow
as
an
actress.
That
is
the
reason
why
I
did
these
films,"said
Karishma
Kapoor.
Biwi
No.
1
remains
one
of
Karishma's
personal
favourites,
and
is
just
one
of
several
roles
she
has
played
depicting
all
the
faces
of
the
woman,
in
India
or
any
other
society.
From
rather
unfocussed
early
roles
Karishma
forayed
into
comic
roles
-
Coolie
No.
1
and
Raja
Babu,
from
there
into
romance
-
Dil
to
Pagal
Hai
and
Raja
Hindustani
-
and
then
socially
relevant
cinema,
films
like
Zubeida,
Fiza
and
now
Shakti.
It's
been
quite
an
innings,
and
it
is
by
no
means
over.
What
she's
loved
to
portray
is
the
pain,
the
feeling,
the
emotion
of
the
Indian
woman,
and
she
looks
forward
to
more.
"I
think
there
are
...
but
there
are
...
Even
in
a
commercial
movie
like
Biwi
No
1,
it
had
great
packaging
and
great
co-stars
and
good
music,
direction
etc.
My
fan
following
increased
so
much
by
that
movie,
because
so
many
Indian
ladies
identified
with
me.
Then
there
are
woman-oriented
movies
like
Shakti,
she
added.
This,
Karishma's
latest
project,
brings
her
entirely
into
the
role
she
has
so
desired,
the
power
of
the
Indian
woman,
the
Shakti.
The
film
is
about
a
Canada-based
Indian
girl
who
goes
to
the
rural
areas
of
Rajasthan
only
to
encounter
outdated
feudal
laws
and
tyranny.
It
is
her
transition
from
a
vulnerable
girl
to
an
audacious
mother
who
is
willing
to
kill
to
save
her
only
son,
a
complex
character
that
grows
with
the
story.
Among
Bollywood's
artistes
today,
and
certainly
among
the
women,
Karishma
Kapoor
towers
like
a
colossus.
And
Karishma
is
to
be
married
soon
too,
to
Abhishek
Bachchan,
son
of
all-time
megastar
Amitabh
Bachchan.
