Kareena Kapoor leads the race to bag the role of eighties sex symbol Mandakini in Milan Luthria's sequel of his 2010 hit, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai.

The film will see Akshay Kumar enact the character of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. For Luthria and producer Ekta Kapoor however, the bigger task lies in finding an actress who can aptly portray Mandakini, who allegedly had an affair with Dawood in the eighties.

Mandakini is best recalled for her roles in Raj Kapoor's blockbuster Ram Teri Ganga Maili and the Mithun Chakraborty-superhit, Dance Dance. "At the moment, there is a toss-up between Kareena and Vidya Balan. Ekta and Milan want an actress who can balance glamour with adequate acting skills. The producer and the director are however keen to cast Kareena. Whether Kareena will sign the role will depend on whether she likes the script and her character, as also on her availability of dates," said a source in the crew of Luthria's 2010 original.

Kareena's date diary is indeed packed with several top-of-the-line assignments this year. She stars opposite Shah Rukh Khan in his ambitious sci-fi flick Ra. One, which is slated for a year-end release. She has been finalised as Aamir Khan's heroine in Reema Kagti's upcoming thriller. Bodyguard, where she co-stars with Salman Khan is scheduled to open around Eid.

Kareena is also shooting with Imran Khan for the Karan Johar-produced Stand By Me. Sudhir Mishra's Dhruv, co- starring Farhan Akhtar and Chitrangada Singh is also in the pipeline.

Coming back to Luthria's Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai sequel, the film created news when Akshay stepped in to fill Emraan Hashmi's shoes from the original as Shoaib-the character in the story of the film series that is inspired by Dawood Ibrahim. The buzz is that Luthria and Ekta want the sequel to be bigger and more thrilling.