Kareena Kapoor made her Bollywood debut with Refugee in 2000. In an old interview, Kareena gushed about her first co-star Abhishek Bachchan.
Kareena Kapoor, unquestionably one of Bollywood’s most famous actors, made her film debut alongside Abhishek Bachchan in JP Dutta’s Refugee (2000). The film not only received critical acclaim, but also earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Kareena spoke to Rediff in May 2000, a month before making her acting debut, on her relationship with Abhishek and her thoughts on his father, actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Kareena called Abhishek ‘one of my closest friends’
When asked how she ‘rated Abhishek Bachchan in the film (Refugee)’, Kareena remarked, “As an actor, he is better, at least I find him a thousandfold better… His father (Amitabh Bachchan) was the best, but he will be even greater. I am certain of it. He is a fantastic person and one of my closest friends.
Kareena on her chemistry with Abhishek
Kareena also remembers her first scene in Refugee. She explained, “It was a love scene between Abhishek and me. We were really comfortable from the beginning because he is a member of my family and a close friend of mine. The chemistry was there from the beginning.”
Karisma Kapoor was about to marry Abhishek
In the early 2000s, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena’s elder sister, Karisma Kapoor, were said to be planning a wedding. Karisma attended events alongside the Bachchan family.
Karisma and Abhishek eventually split up and married other people; he married actress Aishwarya Rai in 2007, while Karisma married Delhi-based businessman Sunjay Kapur in 2003. They have a daughter, Samaira (born 2005), and a son, Kiaan (born 2010. Karisma and Sunjay got divorced in 2016.
