Kareena admits to not always having a dream run. “In 11 years, I have done many films — some extremely good ones, some very terrible ones and the rest just about okay. But every film has added to my big balloon of experience which I am holding today,” she says, adding, “I have even gained from a film like Tashan and the whole size-zero phase. I am happy people will at least remember that there was an actress who did this for a film.”

What has probably worked for Kareena are her “instincts”. “You need to follow your heart. You cannot say that this year I will do a movie with Shah Rukh and next year with Aamir. You have to just pick films as and when they come, work hard and leave the rest to your destiny.”

According to Karan Johar, “She is a natural; she has no craft, grammar or process attached to her acting. Move her from the sets of Golmaal to a Jab We Met to a Chameli on the same day and she will do just fine. It is a great sense of cinema that can keep her going.”

This attitude has remained unchanged even while working for debutant directors like Rensil D’Silva and Siddharth P Malhotra, on Kurbaan and We Are Family respectively. “I wasn’t even a film old. But Kareena had no qualms about doing what I asked her to do. She is a stress-free actress,” says Malhotra. D’Silva says, “A second take with Kareena is an indulgence. With her on the sets, you are sure to wrap up the movie sooner than you expect.”

Most directors count “spontaneity” as Kareena’s biggest strength. This made Rajkumar Hirani cast her as the only female lead in 3 Idiots. “I usually have a habit of conducting rehearsals for my actors, but she insisted on not having them as it would affect her spontaneity. She really surprised me with a couple of emotional scenes which we canned in just one take,” says Hirani.

The Kapoor girl though has often been criticised for being snobbish and haughty —and is known not to forgive or forget. If rumours are to be believed, the two actors who she will never work with are Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan. She called John Abraham “expressionless” on Koffee With Karan. Stories abound of her professional rivalry and personal differences with actresses like Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone. For Kareena, however, making friends with the Bollywood fraternity is not something she is here for. “I am not here to make friends. I am here to work. I go to a job and I come back to my family and loved ones. There are a few acquaintances I like to meet and people I like to work with,” she says.

Coinciding with her rise as a top-billed actress has been Kareena’s emergence as a fashion diva. “I have known Kareena from the time she was nine. She has always been keen on experimenting with her looks. Be it the kohl-eyed look in Asoka to the over-the-top Pooh in Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham or the Patiala-tee look in Jab We Met, Kareena is never finicky about fittings at all,” says fashion designer Manish Malhotra.

Her fashionable avatar has got her endorsements such as Globus, Metro, Sony, Airtel and many others. Brand analyst Sridhar Ramanujan, CEO, Brand Comm, says: “She is the female equivalent of Shah Rukh Khan in the industry today and most people also consider her a pretty face. So obviously all the top brands want to cast her in order to increase brand value,” he says.

Today, Kareena is in a happy place where she gets to choose from the best. Yet, she is not complacent: there are three unfinished films in her kitty. This demands a hectic work life. “I am here to sell my talent, and I will sell it as much as I can, but I will never succumb to selling my soul.”