She is a natural. If she didn’t burst on the scene earlier it was because her mother Babita Kapoor didn’t want her to cut into sister Karisma’s thriving career. She finally took the bow when Karisma was ready to switch lanes to do 'serious, substantial' roles as in Shyam Benegal’s Zubeida. The beginning, however, wasn’t as smooth as a Kapoor girl would have expected it to be. After shooting fo a few days, she pulled out of her debut film, Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, where she was paired opposite Hrithik Roshan, apparently because her mother Babita Kapoor didn’t think she was getting a fair deal. In the end it turned out to be a smart move. Since Rakesh Roshan was making the film to launch his son, Hrithik, Babita felt, Kareena might not get the kind of projection she deserved. She did have a point. Its phenomenal success  notwithstanding, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai didn’t do much for its heroine Amisha Patel (her career actually took off after Gadar - Ek Prem Katha). JP Dutta’s Refugee, on the other hand, was a perfect launching pad for Kareena opposite Abhishek Bachchan, who was going around with Kareena's sister Karisma. Though the film failed at the boxoffice, Kareena, with her ethereal looks and spontaneous acting, had emerged as an actress to watch out for. However, box-office success kept eluding her except for a sporadic Mujhe Kuch Khena Hai (opposite Tushaar Kapoor) and Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham (Karan Johar's multi-starrer). Nevertheless, she kept commanding a superstar status and a huge fee, like no other actress with her sketchy success had ever done.  As a performer she was consistent, reaching great heights in Chameli , which won her several awards, and Omkara. The success of Jab We Met  has given a new dimension to her star status. The film industry and Kareena fans are now awaiting her much-hyped film, Tashan, where she is romancing her new beau Saif Ali Khan.  What sets Kareena Kapoor apart from her contemporaries are her spunk and supreme confidence, which she wears on her sleeve.