It came as no surprise that Madhur Bhandarkar wanted Kareena Kapoor to prepare for her role in his ambitious project Heroine. And one of the ideas he had in mind included studying Angelina Jolie’s outing in the award-winning TV film, Gia (1998).

However, Kareena wasn’t too keen. “He wanted Kareena to watch Gia because of Angelina’s performance. Although Bebo understands the character, the idea was to help her get a tighter grip on the intricacies. But she wanted to keep things natural,” says an insider.

Kareena confirms: “Yes, Madhur said, ‘watch Gia and look at Jolie’s performance.’ But I told him to let me get into Heroine completely blank; I asked him to guide me. I don’t want to take on performances of other actors. I want to play the role like I essay other parts — in a natural way. I don’t want to prepare for it.”

Gia tells the story of a rebellious teenager, who becomes a successful model. But failed relationships, drugs and emotional instability, bring her career and life to an end. Heroine, on the other hand, is based on the life of a superstar actress. And how she lives through the politics, fame and lonely depths of failure.

A few days ago, Kareena wrapped up the first schedule of Heroine. It also stars Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda.

“They enter my character’s life in different phases. Arjun is a great friend and I am very fond of him. Plus, we’ve worked together in We Are Family (2010). Though I’ve never worked with Randeep, I’ve heard he is a fantastic actor,” says Kareena.