One of Bollywood’s most bankable actors has written a revolutionary pregnancy book that lifts the lid on libido, caesareans and more. She discusses power, pay and the reality behind the glamour
Days after giving birth to her first child – an emergency caesarean after the cord had wrapped itself around the baby’s neck – Kareena Kapoor Khan stood undressed and alone in front of a mirror in her bedroom. “There I was: scarred, chubby, puffy, tired,” she recalls of that moment in 2016. “I saw the baby bulge, the dark circles, the dressing bandage of my C-incision. I cannot describe how I felt.”
The image is stark; after all, if there is such a thing as Bollywood royalty, Kapoor Khan is it. The daughter of Bollywood legends, often described as among the most glamorous women in Bollywood, she is married to one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema and over two decades has become one of India’s most bankable stars.
Nonetheless, 20 years in the limelight has not stopped Kapoor Khan being open about parts of her life that most celebrities keep hidden. This has always set her apart in Bollywood and it is this approach that she has brought to her most recent project.
