Ten years is a long time. Especially if your freedom is curbed and you cannot go out freely on the streets; if you cannot step out of your house in casuals; if you cannot speak your mind freely; if you are constantly under the surveillance of cameras wherever you go, whatever you do. But it is also very fulfilling if you see your career graph surge ahead, thanks to the hard work you have put in. Kareena Kapoor, sure falls in the second bracket. The actress just completed 10 years in the industry. Looking back, it does seem a long time since she announced her entry through Refugee with Abhishek Bachchan and later on with Ashoka opposite Shahukh Khan.

And she did make a grand entry with the low waist dresses drawing a lot of attention to her perfect midriff! Kareena instantly became a hit amongst everyone, unlike her elder sister who had to struggle her way through.

Though she did a number of films during her initial days, most of them failed to create ripples in the box office. Interestingly, those debacles never had any impact on Kareena’s career graph. She continued to get good offers and breaks and started maturing as an actress. Her gorgeous looks and the Kapoor nametag did definitely help, but the independent woman she is went a long way in her establishing her foothold in Bollywood.

The pretty actress started getting noticed after her role in Chameli. A film by Sudhir Mishra on the flesh trade in Mumbai, Chameli saw Kareena playing a prostitute and doing a marvelous job with it. Agreed the rain song from the film is what everyone remembers whenever they think of Chameli, but it did make people sit up and take note of the actress.

However, one feels, two films that really catapulted her to stardom were Jab We Met and Omkara. While the first one, along with long time beau Shahid Kapoor made waves as a cult romantic film, the second one received unprecedented critical acclaim. But she really cemented her foothold as one of the top actresses in B town with her fantastic performance in 3 Idiots. In a film completely dominated by the male actors, she being the only female character meant a huge responsibility on her shoulders. Needless to say, she shouldered that with fantastic acting skills. If there were any doubting Thomases on her abilities, they were silenced through this performance.

Kareena has also been in the news for reasons other than her acting skills. First her affair with Shahid Kapoor was plastered all over the media and then she landed into the cell phone photo controversy. Apparently a person had photographed Bebo and Shahid getting too close for everyone’s comfort in a restaurant, saved the moment in his cell phone camera and sent that to a tabloid. Understandably the media did not lose this terrific opportunity to give people a glimpse of the popular actresses’ personal life. Once that died, news of her impending break up with Shahid started being written in the papers. What was once considered as the ideal relation for everyone in the entertainment industry had fallen apart and ripped by the media. Shahid and Kareena parted ways.

Not much time later, she was again in the news. This time for coming close to Saif Ali Khan. Before anyone knew what was happening, there were photographs of Saif tattooing her name on his forearm! And it was not one of those tattoos that go away after washing. It was a permanent one. And, touch wood, the couple are still together and look like being with each other for a long time.

Ask her about her relation with the prince of Pataudi and she will respond with a broad smile, “It is very rare to get a good partner who loves and supports you. I am lucky because I have Saif. He’s very different from everyone else and always supports me in my work.” The pretty actress goes one steps further and explains her point of view, “I feel all women should work. That is not to say they should neglect their household responsibilities, but working does help everyone in getting the right perspective. Saif has always encouraged me to work and excel at work.”

Club it with her recent statements of not being ready for a baby yet and wanting to wait for some more time, it does mean that the lady is going to concentrate full time on her career now.

Understandably, Kareena still blushes while talking about his beau. “He’s like a Hollywood actor. He is in his own world and wants to concentrate on his films. He wants to produce films like Hollywood stars,” she says.

Kareena can be credited with introducing the concept of Size Zero in the bollywood. For a lady who always had the right curves at the right places, getting to size zero was difficult and she did it. And the rest is history. Almost everyone who is someone in the industry started aping her wanting to reduce all those extra kilos they had.

Kareena smiles before responding to questions on the topic, “My weight has become a national issue! I have put on weight now and I think my fans will like to see me nice and round. I am not losing weight for anyone’s films -- not even for Karan Johar’s Short Term Shaadi. I’m going to be like this,” says the Punjabi kudi.

The future looks bright for the actress who has handled all issues and controversies with élan and panache. She has quite a few high profile films lined up, including Agent Vinod, Ra One . The fact that she has been around for a decade despite not having too many hits proves her mettle. It is this tenacity that is going to help her sail through for many more decades to come. After all, rarely do you come across a person who has the right skills, lineage and temperament for success.