Kareena Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut share stage at event

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan would never want her husband to change. She was responding to a question about whether or not marriage has changed anything for her at the 13th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday.

“I love marriage. I don’t see any changes. I don’t want anything to change ... I never want my husband to change. As far as being reserved is concerned, I am still the same. I am the last person to be reserved,” said the actress, who is married to actor Saif Ali Khan.

The Jab We Met actress tied the knot with Saif in October 2012. The couple shared screen space in films like Tashan, Kurbaan and Agent Vinod.

Kareena participated with fellow Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali in a panel discussion at the summit.

Asked about the person that inspires her the most, Kareena, who will next be seen in R. Balki’s romantic film Ki and Ka along with Arjun Kapoor, said she finds the Tanu Weds Manu actress Kangana Ranaut “inspirational”.

“Everyone is doing such wonderful work...I think Kangana is very inspirational. She is one actor who inspires me,” she said.

Addressing the event, Ranaut, who has won critical acclaim for her versatile acting skills, said she believed that Indian audiences are ready for cinema with elements of both art and glamour.

“Today we have everything coming together and I feel that the credit has to be given to the audience. So I would like to believe that our audience is ready for that kind of cinema where you can give art combined with a lot of glamour,” said Kangana, who is preparing for the upcoming film Rangoon.

The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, a two-day event that began on Friday, brought together 30 global figures including senior politicians, corporate heads, entrepreneurs, artists, eminent sports personalities, intellectuals, policy makers, economists, industry thought leaders and influencers to discuss India’s future as a global destination.

Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman was one of the speakers on Saturday.

Director Ali said that “women have always been better actors than men”. Responding to his question on whether or not women were giving a strong competition to men in the industry, Ranaut said that she soon realised that there was strong discrimination.

“When I started out, I was open to wherever my life took me as an actor but I realised that there was a strong discrimination. I am talking about almost 10 years ago. There were actors, stars and superstars. Superstars weren’t actors and actors weren’t superstars...so there was a strong sense of discrimination,” said Kangana, who made her debut in Bollywood in 2006.

Born in Bollywood’s first family, Kareena said she always dreamt of becoming an actress.

“I always wanted to be an actress and I realised it when I was very young. I used to look at Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan when I was young. I used to say one day I will work with them. My sister Karisma [Kapoor] used to say get out of here and go to your school,” Kareena recalled.

Seeing her inclination towards a career in films, her parents — Randhir Kapoor and Babita — even sent her to a boarding school in Dehradun.

“My parents couldn’t handle the brat I was and sent me to a boarding school. I always used to tell them acting is my passion and my interest lies there. My mum actually told my father that we have to send her away so that I meet different kind of people. I cried the day she sent me to the boarding school,” she said.

The first acting assignment she got was in a play titled Dulari Bai where she portrayed the role of a 16-year-old boy.

“I played a boy and this was my first job as an actor. I played a 16-year-old boy. I did a moustache and I must say I played a very good-looking boy. Kapoor boys are very good-looking and I was just like one of them.”