Kareena Kapoor
Kapoor at the launch of Gitanjali Group's jewellery collection, "Parineeta", June 2010
Born	(1980-09-21) 21 September 1980 (age 31) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Film actress, Model
Years active	2000–present
Partner	Saif Ali Khan (2007–present)
Signature
Website
www.kareenakapoor.me

Kareena Kapoor (pronounced [kəˈriːnaː kəˈpuːr]; born on 21 September 1980),^[1] often informally referred to as Bebo,^[2] is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary romantic dramas to comedies, period films to major Bollywood productions, as well as less publicised independent films.^[3][4]

Born into a family where her parents, Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and elder sister Karisma were actors, Kapoor faced the media spotlight from a very young age, but did not make her acting debut until the 2000 film Refugee. Her melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... became India's highest-grossing film in the overseas market in 2001, and is one of her biggest commercial successes to date.^[5] After receiving negative reviews for a series of repetitive roles, Kapoor accepted more demanding parts in order to avoid being typecast,^[6] and was consequently recognized by critics for displaying greater versatility as an actress.^[7][8] Her portrayal of a sex worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career and she was later noted for her performances in the critically acclaimed projects Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006).^[6] She went on to play the lead female role in the Imtiaz Ali-directed romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007), for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and the drama 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time.^[9]

Inspired by Bollywood actresses like Nargis and Meena Kumari, as well as her sister Karisma, Kapoor is well-recognized for her fashion style and her film roles, both of which have contributed in making her a style icon for young girls and women.^[10] Her contributions to the film industry have garnered her numerous achievements including six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations,^[11] making her a leading actress of Hindi cinema.^[3][8] In addition to film acting, Kapoor is a regular stage performer and has launched her own clothing line in association with being the former brand ambassador for the retail chain Globus. Her off-screen life, including her relationship with actor Saif Ali Khan, is the subject of wide media coverage in India.^[7][12]

Early life and background[link]

Born in Mumbai, India, on 21 September 1980, into the Kapoor film family, Kapoor is the younger daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani); her elder sister Karisma, is also an actress. Often informally referred to as Bebo,^[2] she is the granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and niece of actor Rishi Kapoor.^[1] According to Kapoor, the name "Kareena" was derived from the book Anna Karenina, which her mother read while she was pregnant with her.^[13] She is of Punjabi descent from her father's side^[14] and on her mother's side she is Sindhi.^[15]

As a child, she had strong aspirations to become an actress, and was particularly inspired by watching the films of Bollywood actresses Nargis and Meena Kumari.^[16] Kapoor, who describes herself as a "very naughty [and] spoilt child", would regularly dress up in her mother's clothes and perform in front of the mirror.^[17] Despite her family background, her father disapproved of women entering the acting profession because he believed it conflicted with the traditional maternal duties and responsibility of women in the family.^[10] This led to a conflict between her parents and resulted in Kapoor's mother leaving the house with her daughters.^[18] After her parents' separation, she was raised in Lokhandwala by her mother, who worked several jobs to support her daughters until Karisma debuted as an actress in 1991.^[19] In an interview with Vir Sanghvi, Kapoor said that growing up in a household filled with women helped her become strong and independent.^[17] Following her parents' reconciliation in October 2007,^[18] Kapoor explained that they "were never officially divorced ... [but] ... liv[ed] separately."^[19] Asked about the relationship she shared with her father, Kapoor remarked, "My father is ... an important factor in my life. [Al]though we did not see him often in our initial years, we are a family now."^[19]

Kapoor attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai before progressing to Welham Girls Boarding School in Dehradun.^[16] She later recalled, "I learnt so much from being at Welham", and described her experience there as "one of the finest parts of my life".^[17] According to Kapoor, she was a good student and received first-class honours in all subjects except mathematics.^[17] Upon graduating from the boarding school, she studied commerce for two years at Mithibai College in Vile Parle, Mumbai, but later confessed that she only studied there because she was close to her family.^[16] Kapoor then registered for a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard University in the United States.^[16] She later developed an interest in law and enrolled at the Government Law College in Churchgate; during this period she became immersed in law books and developed a long-lasting passion for reading.^[16] However, after completing one year at Churchgate, Kapoor realized that she was not inclined towards academics and returned to her initial plan to become an actress.^[17][20] She began training at an acting institute in Andheri, mentored by Kishore Namit Kapoor, a member of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).^[21]

Acting career[link]

2000–03: Debut and breakthrough[link]

Kapoor was initially scheduled to make her debut in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), opposite the director's son Hrithik Roshan.^[16] Several days into the filming, however, she abandoned the project and later explained that, "it was probably destined that I was not to be in the film. After all, it was a launch for his son. The whole focus was on the boy. Now I am glad I did not do the movie."^[16]

She made her debut later that year in J.P. Dutta's war drama Refugee, alongside Abhishek Bachchan. Set during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, the film centers on a man known simply as "Refugee", who illegally transports civilians back and forth across the Indo-Pakistani border. Kapoor portrayed Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in love with Refugee while illegally migrating to Pakistan with her family. Her performance was acclaimed by critics; Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote that Kapoor "has a magnetic personality, which will make the viewer fall in love with her instantly. What surprises you is the ease with which she emotes the most difficult of scenes [...] There is no denying the fact that she is a natural performer who is very camera friendly."^[22] On the experience of making her first film, she described it as "...tough ... [but] also a great learning experience."^[16] Refugee became the fifth highest-grossing film in India in 2000,^[23] and Kapoor's performance earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.^[11]

In 2001, Kapoor appeared opposite Tusshar Kapoor in the romantic drama Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, which became one of the highest earners of the year.^[24] A review in The Hindu, in regards to her performance, noted that she was "definitely the actress to watch out for, if her debut with Abhishek in Refugee and now Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai are any indication [...] Kareena shines throughout the flick, with the grace of a seasoned sizzler already."^[25] She next starred in Subhash Ghai's family drama Yaadein alongside Jackie Shroff and Hrithik Roshan. The drama centers on the character of Raj Singh Puri, a middle-class man, and his daughters' marriages. Kapoor played the part of the youngest daughter and Roshan's love interest, Isha Singh Puri. The film was met with negative reactions from reviewers and garnered poor box office returns.^[24] Kapoor then appeared in the Abbas-Mustan thriller Ajnabee. The feature was adapted from the 1992 American thriller film Consenting Adults,^[26] and was a moderate box office success in India.^[24]

Later in the year, she played the female lead in Santosh Sivan's period epic Asoka, a partly fictionalized account of the life of Ashoka the Great. It was widely screened across the United Kingdom and North America, and was also selected for screening at the Venice Film Festival and the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival.^[27] Featured opposite Shahrukh Khan who played Ashoka, Kapoor portrayed the character of Kaurwaki—a princess of Kalinga with whom Ashoka falls in love—and received her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination.^[11] While the film received generally positive reviews, Kapoor's performance received a mixed reaction from critics. Rediff.com concluded that "while a large portion of the first half is focused on the emerging romance between the runaway prince and herself and to their credit they do manage to whip up some on-screen chemistry, I am still unsure as to her acting abilities."^[28] Meanwhile, David Rooney from Variety wrote, "Kapoor plays ornately tattooed Kaurwaki as a lively mix of flirtatious coquette and feisty warrior woman, kind of like J.Lo meets Michelle Yeoh."^[29]

Her final release of 2001 was Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., a melodrama, in which she featured as part of an ensemble cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Hrithik Roshan. Directed by Karan Johar, the film was a major financial success and became India's second highest-grossing film of the year, as well as Kapoor's highest-grossing film up until then. It also performed well internationally and became one of the biggest Bollywood success of all time in the overseas market, earning over 1,000 million (US$19.95 million) worldwide.^[30] Kapoor's performance as "Poo", a good-natured but superficial girl, was described as "one of the main ... highlights of the film",^[31] and her portrayal earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination.^[11]

During 2002 and 2003, Kapoor experienced a setback in her career. She was in six films—Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, Talaash: The Hunt Begins..., Khushi, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, and the four-hour war epic LOC Kargil—all of which proved critically and commercially unsuccessful in India.^[32][33] Kapoor's performances were often identified by critics as unoriginal and repetitive, with little inspiration.^[1] They expressed concern that she was becoming typecast, but these negative reviews were fundamental in motivating her to improve her integrity as an actress in subsequent years by accepting more demanding roles.^[6][34]

2004–06: Critical acclaim[link]

Following the negative period in Kapoor's career, 2004 marked the beginning of her work in more serious films, most of which would bring her critical acclaim rather than commercial success.^[6] Under the direction of Sudhir Mishra, Kapoor portrayed the role of a prostitute in Chameli. The film relates the story of a young prostitute who meets with a widowed investment banker (played by Rahul Bose), and follows the development of their relationship as they share their devastating life experiences. When Kapoor was initially offered the film, she refused it, stating that she wouldn't be comfortable playing the role.^[34] However, when the director again approached her a year later, she agreed to do the film and viewed it as an opportunity to show the range of her acting skills.^[34] To prepare for the role, she visited several of Mumbai's red-light areas at night to study the dress and mannerisms of sex workers.^[34] Upon release, the film and Kapoor's performance opened to predominantly positive reviews by critics, with the Indiatimes praising her "intuitive brilliance" and stating that she had exceeded all expectations.^[35] Another reviewer, however expressed concern that they found her portrayal unconvincing and excessively stereotypical, describing her as "sounding more like a teenager playacting than a brash, hardened streetwalker", and likening her mannerisms to that of a caricature.^[36] Nonetheless, Kapoor's portrayal of Chameli garnered her the Filmfare Special Performance Award^[11] and the film marked a significant turning point in her career as an actress.^[6]

She next co-starred in Mani Ratnam's bilingual project Yuva alongside Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji and Esha Deol. The film, consisting of three chapters, tells the story of six individuals linked by a car accident. Kapoor is featured in the third chapter as Oberoi's love interest, Mira, a young witty woman. In a review published by The Times of India, film critic Subhash K Jha described her role as "fey and insubstantial", but further stated that "she turns these character traits to her own advantage to create a girl who is at once enigmatic and all-there, a bit like the film itself which is both mysterious and voluptuous".^[37] She then appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Fardeen Khan in Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed film Dev, which revolved around the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat.^[38] Kapoor's role was that of a Muslim victim named Aaliya, modelled after Zaheera Sheikh, a key witness in Vadodara's Best Bakery case.^[38] It earned her a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, as well as nominations for Best Actress at various award ceremonies.^[11] Taran Adarsh commented, "Kareena Kapoor is first-rate. Sporting a deglamorized look, the actress takes a giant leap with this film. Her scene with Amitabh Bachchan (when the latter asks for witnesses to come forward) is an example of superb acting."^[39]

Shortly afterwards, she was cast for the first time as a villain in the thriller Fida. The film follows the story of an on-line robbery and the Mumbai underworld with which her character Neha Mehra becomes involved. During the filming of Fida, Kapoor entered into a relationship with actor Shahid Kapoor, whom she later described as having "a major positive influence in my life."^[40] Although the film did not succeed at the box office,^[41] Kapoor garnered positive reviews for her performance, with some critics noting a distinct progression from her earlier roles.^[42] Her subsequent releases that year included Abbas-Mustan's thriller Aitraaz and Priyadarshan's comedy Hulchul, both of which did well at the Indian box office.^[41] Following the success of her last two releases, she was cast as the protagonist in the 2005 drama Bewafaa. The feature received mostly negative reviews and Kapoor's portrayal of Anjali Sahai, an unfaithful woman, was not well-received. Nikhat Kazmi of Indiatimes believed that in an effort to become a serious actress, Kapoor was embodying a maturer, more jaded character ahead of her years in Bewafaa which appeared peculiar for a young woman of her age.^[43] She then starred in Priyadarshan's romantic drama Kyon Ki, a film that relates the love story of a mentally ill patient, played by Salman Khan, and his physician, played by Kapoor. The film was a box office failure,^[44] though Kapoor's performance was generally enjoyed by critics, with the BBC reporting that she is "[...] a pure natural when it comes to acting."^[45]

In 2006, Kapoor appeared in three films. She first starred in the thriller 36 China Town followed by the comedy Chup Chup Ke; both films performed reasonably well.^[47] She next portrayed the Shakespearean character of Desdemona in Omkara, the Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is a tragedy of sexual jealousy set against the backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh.^[48] The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for screening at the Cairo International Film Festival.^[48][49] Omkara was embraced by critics and Kapoor's portrayal earned her a fourth Filmfare Award and first Screen Award;^[11] her performance was later included in the 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances" by Filmfare.^[46] Kapoor herself considers her role in Omkara as a "new benchmark" in her career and has made comparisons between her portrayal of Dolly and her own evolving maturity as a woman.^[50]

Following Omkara, she stopped acting for a short time, as she felt that "nothing [was] challenging enough for me to say yes".^[50] In an interview with The Times of India, Kapoor commented, "In my initial years in the industry, I pushed myself to do a lot of work because I was greedy. I did some films – which I now regret – purely for the money. Today, I want to do selective films"; she later described this period as a way of "finally getting to do the things I have always wanted to do."^[51]

[edit] 2007–present: Jab We Met and other works

Kapoor returned to film as the female protagonist Geet Dhillon, a vivacious Sikh girl with a strong zest for life, in the Imtiaz Ali directed romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007). Featured opposite Shahid Kapoor, the film relates the story of two people with contrasting personalities who meet on a train and eventually fall in love. The film was received favourably by critics and became one of the year's most successful films, with a domestic box office of 303 million (US$6.04 million).^[52] Kapoor won several awards for her performance, including her second Screen Award as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.^[11] Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted, "Uninhibited and spontaneous, Kareena Kapoor is the soul of this picture, its biggest strength, as she brings alive her character with not just those smart lines, but with the kind of candor actors seldom invest in their work."^[53] While shooting for Jab We Met, Kapoor and Shahid ended their three-year relationship.^[54] Asked in Mumbai Mirror about their well-publicized break-up, she stated that "I hold him in utmost regard, and I hope one day we could be good friends. He is a great guy."^[19] During this period, speculation began to surface that she was dating actor Saif Ali Khan, her co-star in the film Tashan; Khan later confirmed their relationship to the media during Manish Malhotra's grand finale show at the 2007 Lakme Fashion Week.^[54]

The following year, she co-starred alongside Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Anil Kapoor in Vijay Krishna Acharya's action-thriller Tashan. Though a poll conducted by Bollywood Hungama named it as the most anticipated release of the year,^[55] the film eventually became a commercial and critical failure.^[7] She next provided her voice for the character of Laila, the love interest of a street dog named Romeo, in the Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Pictures animated film Roadside Romeo. It was the second Bollywood film to receive a North American release by a Hollywood studio.^[56] In preparation for the role, Kapoor viewed several Hollywood animated films to analyse how actors delivered their dialogues.^[57] Kapoor then appeared in Rohit Shetty's comedy Golmaal Returns, the sequel to the 2006 film Golmaal: Fun Unlimited. A part of an ensemble cast that included Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi and Tusshar Kapoor, Kapoor played a distrustful wife who believed her husband to be unfaithful. The film received an ambivalent reception from critics and Kapoor herself received mixed reviews. The Indian Express believed the screenplay was unoriginal, concluding, "There is nothing particularly new about a suspicious wife keeping tabs on her husband, and there is nothing particularly new in the way Kareena plays it."^[58] Golmaal Returns was nonetheless a major financial success, with revenues of 793 million (US$15.82 million) internationally.^[30]

In 2009, Kapoor was cast as Simrita Rai opposite Akshay Kumar in Sabbir Khan's battle of the sexes comedy Kambakkht Ishq. Set in Los Angeles, California, it became the first Indian film in history to be shot within Universal Studios Hollywood, California, and featured several cameo appearances from Hollywood actors.^[59] The film earned over 840 million (US$16.76 million) worldwide, but was a critical failure.^[30] The Times of India described her performance as "a complete let-down" and further stated that "despite her haute-coutured look, micro minis [and] pencil heels, she comes across as a completely unconvincing supermodel cum surgeon."^[60] She next played the leading female role in the dramatic thriller Kurbaan, alongside Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi. The film, which marked the directorial debut of Rensil D'Silva, featured Kapoor in the role of Avantika Ahuja, a woman who is confined to house arrest after finding out that her husband is a terrorist. She described the film as "an emotionally draining experience", which did not let her disconnect from her character during shooting.^[61] Upon release, the film was critically embraced and Kapoor received her fourth Filmfare Best Actress nomination.^[11] According to Subhash K Jha, "Kurbaan belongs to Kareena Kapoor. In her most consistently-pitched performance to date she pulls out all stops to play a betrayed wife with splendid sensitivity. Kareena accommodates her radiant beauty into an utterly credible character and performance. At her best, Kareena is incomparable. She proves it in Kurbaan."^[62]

Her final release of the year was Rajkumar Hirani's drama 3 Idiots, a film loosely based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat.^[63] Co-starring alongside Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, Kapoor starred as Pia, an independent-minded medical student and Khan's love interest. On acting alongside Khan, Kapoor revealed that it was "a dream come true" and further stated that her journey as an actress was "finally complete".^[64] The feature received much critical devotion and emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, grossing 2,026 million (US$40.42 million) at the Indian box office.^[9] It also did well internationally and earned over 1,080 million (US$21.55 million), the biggest Bollywood success of all time in the overseas market.^[5][65] The Deccan Herald opined that Kapoor "brings a dollop of sunshine and feminine grace to an otherwise masculine tale. She is so spunky and spontaneous you wish there was room for more of her."^[66] During the 55th Filmfare Awards, Kapoor received another Best Actress nomination for her role.^[11]

In 2010, she appeared in the romantic comedy Milenge Milenge, a production that had been delayed since 2005.^[67] The feature garnered negative reviews and poor box office returns. Kapoor's role was small and was not well-received.^[67] She next took the supporting role of the career-oriented Shreya Arora in We Are Family, the Hindi adaptation of the 1998 Hollywood release Stepmom. Prior to working on the project, Kapoor explained that she did not want to watch the original film in an attempt to "interpret the role...in my own style". Reaction to the film was mostly lukewarm, but Kapoor's performance drew positive reviews and ultimately won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress;^[11] Priyanka Roy of The Telegraph wrote: Kapoor "breathes life and a new-found maturity into what is largely a uni-dimensional character lacking depth."^[68] At the end of the year, she reunited with director Rohit Shetty for his sequel to the 2008 release Golmaal Returns. Like its predecessor, the project was met with mixed reactions from reviewers, though became the most successful entry in the Golmaal film series, earning more than 1,000 million (US$19.95 million) domestically.^[69] For her portrayal of the tomboy Daboo, Kapoor went on to receive several Best Actress nominations at a number of award ceremonies, including Filmfare.^[11]

Kapoor received further success in 2011 by starring as the love interest of Salman Khan in the romantic drama Bodyguard, a remake of the 2010 Malayalam film of the same name. The project opened to mixed reviews upon release, though became the most popular film of the year, with a domestic total of 1,410 million (US$28.13 million). In a review published by Mint, film critic Sanjukta Sharma dismissed Kapoor's role as the "sacrificial, ornamental [and] submissive female" whilst MiD DAY referred to her as "bright", arguing that she "actually manages to bring her caricature of a role alive."^[70][71] She next appeared in Anubhav Sinha's science fiction film Ra.One, alongside Shahrukh Khan. The film, which follows the story of a London-based videogame designer who creates the strongest villain—only to later realize that it has escaped from the game, saw the use of several new visual effects never seen before in the cinematic history of Bollywood, and became the most expensive Hindi film ever produced.^[72] With revenues of over 2,000 million (US$39.9 million) worldwide, Ra.One went on to become one of the highest earners of the year and Kapoor's fourth major success in three consecutive years.^[73]

She followed it by playing the female lead in Shakun Batra's directorial debut Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012), alongside Imran Khan. Produced by Dharma Productions, the romantic comedy is set in Las Vegas and tells the story of two strangers who accidentally get married one night after getting drunk. Kapoor essayed the role of the quick-witted hairstylist Riana Braganza. In an interview with The Times of India, Kapoor explained that she was drawn to the relatable qualities of her character: "Riana knows what she is doing. Even though she does not have a house or a job, she is a positive person... very similar to the way I am."^[74] Upon release, the film was greeted with positive reviews and was an economic success, earning over 550 million (US$10.97 million) internationally. The Hollywood Reporter found her "endearingly natural" while Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com asserted that "after doing ornamental roles in films like Bodyguard and Ra.One, it is nice to see the spunky actress in her element again since Jab We Met. Though vivacious, her Riana isn't a child-woman like Geet but a free-spirited, unflappable adult armed with plucky impulses and scrumptious smile that helps Rahul come-of-age and Ek Main Au Ekk Tu worth a helping."^[75][76]

Following the completion of Sriram Raghavan's Agent Vinod, Kapoor began working on Madhur Bhandarkar's drama Heroine in November 2011.^[77] Originally the first choice for her role, she was initially not able to take on the project due to a scheduling conflict with Bodyguard and Ra.One, and was later replaced by Aishwarya Rai.^[77] Several days after production began, Rai left the film due to her pregnancy, enabling Kapoor to rejoin the film.

Off-screen work[link]

Stage performances[link]

Kapoor performing at Temptation Reloaded 2008

Kapoor has been part of several stage shows and world tours since 2002. Her first world tour, the Heartthrobs: Live in Concert, was successfully performed across the United States and Canada alongside Hrithik Roshan, Karisma Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, and Aftab Shivdasani.^[78] At the end of the year, she performed alongside several Bollywood stars at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa, for the show Now or Never.^[79] Four years later, Kapoor took part in the Rockstars Concert world tour, along with Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor, Esha Deol and Mallika Sherawat. The concert was showcased in 19 cities across the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, and went on to become a success.^[80] In 2008, Kapoor participated in Shahrukh Khan's Temptation Reloaded 2008, a series of concerts showcased across several different countries. The show, which also featured Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Ganesh Hegde, Javed Ali and Anusha Dandekar, took place at the Ahoy Rotterdam venue in Rotterdam, Netherlands.^[81] Several months later, she again joined Khan, Rampal and Kaif to perform for 15,000 spectators at Dubai's Festival City Arena.^[82]

Humanitarian work[link]

During her years in the film industry, Kapoor has been involved with various humanitarian causes. In November 2003, Kapoor performed at the Marco Ricci Each One Reach One Benefit Concert, a fundraiser for the World Youth Peace Summit,^[83] while in 2005, along with other Bollywood stars, she took part in the HELP! Telethon Concert, to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.^[84] Later that year, she visited the desert heartland of Rajasthan to boost the morale of the jawan troops for a special Holi weekend episode on the NDTV show, Jai Jawan. The show consists of entertainers and stars visiting Indian troops in isolated regions along with the NDTV team.^[85] During her 2010 appearance at the NDTV Greenathon, Kapoor adopted the village of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh to provide them with electricity.^[86] While there, she also raised awareness on creating a greener future for the environment.^[86] Several months later, Kapoor was roped in by UNESCO and FIFA for their international campaign, 1GOAL Education for All.^[87] The project consisted of a group of individuals raising public awareness and involvement in achieving education for children. Upon joining the project, she said: "Education is a way to emancipation. It is not just freedom from poverty but also from hopelessness. Countries in Southeast Asia have a high level of poverty [...] and we should do something to help erase this. I would like to contribute in some way or other to help spread this awareness."^[88] In March 2011, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, Kapoor was appointed as the brand ambassador of the Shakti campaign, a project launched by the television company, NDTV, to help fight violence against women.^[89]

Clothing line[link]

In August 2007, Kapoor replaced actress Soha Ali Khan, when she was hired as the brand ambassador for the clothing chain Globus on a two-year contract.^[90] Vinay Nadkarni, CEO of Globus Stores Pvt Ltd, explained that in an attempt to move away from being a multi-branded retail chain to adopting a single brand strategy for its stores, the clothing chain decided to appoint a different brand ambassador for its new business ventures.^[91] On being appointed by Globus, Kapoor commented, "I am delighted to be the face of Globus [...] I look forward to spreading this new language of fashion across the nation".^[90] Since her start, it was reported that the brand had experienced a 75 percent increase in sales.^[92]

Several months later, Kapoor announced that she would be launching her own line of clothing, thus becoming the first Indian actress to do so.^[93] She said, "I will be launching my exclusive line of clothes soon and I am quite sure people will like it. My clothing line is very reflective of my personal sense of style and will have my label on it. Just like I am pretty casual about my dressing, my line will also consist of an extremely wearable yet stylish collection. I am taking out this line in association with Globus, a brand that I am also the ambassadress for".^[93] Kapoor further stated that she would also be involved in the planning and designing process of the clothing as well.^[93] Her clothing line debuted several months later in stores across India and was well-received by the public.^[94] Following the end of her contract with Globus, Kapoor expressed her desire of working with an international design house to release her clothing line internationally;^[95] she later explained that her plans had to be put on hold due to prior commitments.^[96]

In the media[link]

Kapoor and Khan at the 53rd Filmfare Awards ceremony in February 2008

Hailing from a family deeply involved in the Bollywood film industry, Kapoor faced the media spotlight from a very young age.^[16] As a child, Kapoor regularly attended award ceremonies and events with her mother Babita and sister Karisma Kapoor, and would also accompany her sister on set during filming.^[2] In an interview with Filmfare, she said that growing up in a film family helped her develop a sense of professionalism towards her work and remain grounded as a human being.^[97] Kapoor's off-screen life has been subject to wide media coverage in India with frequent press coverage of her weight and diet.^[7] She also created headlines with her much publicized breakup with Shahid Kapoor and her subsequent relationship with actor Saif Ali Khan.^[54] Often referred to as India's "Brangelina" ("Saifeena") by the press,^[98] her relationship with Khan has become one of the most reported celebrity stories in India since 2007.^[7][12] In recent years, in response to media speculation, Kapoor has developed a nonchalant relationship with the media and has gained a reputation for discussing her professional or private life with the press with no reservations.^[4][7]

As one of her most distinctive physical features, Kapoor's lips have been cited by the Indian media as her trademark.^[99] Her off-screen image has been open to much debate and criticism. While a section of the press has described her as friendly and extremely close to her family,^[2] others have described her as arrogant and vain, an image she gained after the portrayal of her snobbish character "Poo" in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001).^[6] She subsequently went on to play similar characters in her films from 2002–03, which further established her off-screen as well as her on-screen image as an actress.^[1] Prior to the release of Chameli (2004), in which she played the role of a sex worker, Kapoor stated that, "there is a certain image that people identify you with. It always follows you whichever role you play. I am trying to transgress this image and become more screen-friendly than image-friendly."^[100] Following the release of Chameli, which helped her gain a new on-screen image,^[6] Kapoor was asked about her off-screen image. During an interview, she explained that as a child she was always taught to be self-confident, a trait she says was often misunderstood by the media for her arrogance.^[101]

In 2004, Kapoor appeared third on Rediff's list of "Top Bollywood Female Stars".^[102] She was later ranked seventh and fifth in 2005–2006 respectively, and came back to the third position in 2007.^{[103][104][105]} She has been featured frequently on other Rediff lists, including "Bollywood's Most Beautiful Actresses",^[99] "Bollywood's Best Dressed Women"^[106] and "Women of Many Faces".^[107] Today, Kapoor is considered as one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities in India.^[108][109] Her look and performances have established her as a style icon for young girls and women.^[10][110] In a 2009 poll conducted by the newspaper Daily News and Analysis, she was voted as one of India's most popular icons.^[111] According to the UK magazine Eastern Eye, Kapoor was ranked fourth in the list of "Asia's Sexiest Women" in 2009;^[112] she had been previously ranked eighth in 2007 and third in 2008.^[113][114] She became the only actress to be featured on CNNGo's list of "Who Mattered Most in India"^[115] and was described as "India's Most Beautiful Woman" by People in 2010.^[116] In July 2010, Kapoor was placed eighth in Filmfare Magazine's annual power list, an achievement she repeated from the previous year, where she was ranked at number ten.^[117]

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

	Bollywood portal
	Film portal

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kareena Kapoor

• Official website
• Kareena Kapoor at the Internet Movie Database

Komal Nahta is the editor and publisher of "Film Information", India's largest film trade journal. He is also an anchor of the Trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinema. ^[1] He is also the co-owner of koimoi.com which is a joint foray into the Online Entertainment & News segment in partnership with Mr. Alok Kejriwal (CEO, Games2Win India Pvt. Ltd.). He is also the Chairman of Eros International.

Career[link]

His interviews are carried by many satellite channels, including CNBC, STAR, Zee, B4U, NDTV, Zoom and Doordarshan. He was also the Bollywood representative of the BBC for almost 10 years. The Asian Development bank(ADB) has appointed him advisor for its film financing division, the first person from the film industry to be so appointed. He has recently launched a new tabloid called "The Film Street Journal".^[2]

On 26 April 2010, Nahta replaced Taran Adarsh as the host of ETC Bollywood Business on the indian TV channels ETC (India) and Zee Cinema (UK). The show airs daily on weekdays at 8:30 pm in India^[3] and at 7:30 pm in the UK. On Mondays, the show is about the previous fridays collections. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Nahta speaks to various artists from the film industry. Thursdays preview films releasing on Friday. On Fridays, Nahta will be review films released on that day.^[4][5] The show launched the first episode with Sajid Nadiadwala as the guest. He is also the Editor of Entertainment website www.koimoi.com^[6] He has also given a special appearance in the 2010 comedy, Tees Maar Khan, along with Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Akshaye Khanna.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile from Sify.com
• Komal Nahta on Twitter
• Box Office Half-Yearly Report Card: RED MARKS ALL THE WAY!
• Alliance Against Copyright Theft To Combat Piracy: A Joke
• Google search results

This Indian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Imran Khan Niazi عمران خان نیازی
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-25) 25 November 1952 (age 59) Lahore, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse(s)	Jemima Khan (1995–2004)
Children	Sulaiman Qasim Khan
Residence	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford
Occupation	Politician Philanthropist Cricketer
Religion	Islam
Website	PTI

Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی; born 25 November 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a philanthropist, cricket commentator, Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founder and Chairman Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.

Arguably Pakistan's most successful cricket captain, Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982–1992.^[1] After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.^[2] On 14 July 2010, Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.^[3]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).^[4] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.^[5] Foreign Policy magazine has described him as "Pakistan's Ron Paul".^[6]

Through worldwide fundraising, he has also helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life[link]

Imran Khan was born in Lahore, the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum.^[7] Although long settled in Mianwali in Punjab, the family were of Pashtun ethnicity and belonged to the Niazi Shermankhel tribe.^[8] A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his four sisters in relatively affluent (upper middle-class) circumstances^[9] and received a privileged education. He was educated the Cathedral School in Lahore, the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket, and at Aitchison College, Lahore. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.^[10] Khan's mother hailed from the Burki family which had produced several successful hockey players,^[7] as also cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.^[8] Early in life, Khan developed an interest in cricket, which is an extremely popular sport in Pakistan.

Marriage to Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith[link]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, in an Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[11] . The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,^[8] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).^[12] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".^[13] The marriage ended amicably. Imran has regular access to his children and his relationship with his ex-wife is friendly. Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.^[8]

Cricket career[link]

Pride of Performance Award Recipient
Imran Khan was recipient of the Pride of Performance Award 1983
Presented by	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Date	1983
Country	Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).^[14] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–75 seasons.^[10] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980–81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.^[2]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976–77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.^[14] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.^[2] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.^[2]

As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his powers in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.^[15] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (ICC player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.^[16]

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.^[17] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.^[18] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.^[2] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.

Captaincy[link]

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."^[19] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.^[2]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.^[20] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981–82.^[2] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982–83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.^[14]

Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984–85 season.^[2]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first ever Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.^[20] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.^[2] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".^[8] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.^[2]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.^[14]

Post-retirement[link]

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."^[21] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.^[22] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10–2 majority decision by the jury.^[22]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,^[23] the Guardian,^[24] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu^[25] and the Star TV network.^[26] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,^[27] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.^[28] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.^[28]

In November 2009 Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.^[29]

Social work[link]

For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavour, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.^[4] Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.^[8] Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds through charity and public donations.^[30]

During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports^[31] and promoted health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.^[32]

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford (of which Khan is Chancellor) in December 2005.^[33] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity.^[4]

Political work[link]

Imran Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in World Economic Forum

In 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which emphasized on anti-corruption policies.^[8][34] The newly formed party was unable to win a seat during the 1997 Pakistani general election.^[35] Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999,^[36] believing Musharraf would "end corruption, clear out the political mafias".^[37] According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice of prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer.^[38] The 2002 Pakistani general election were held in October across 272 constituencies. Khan anticipated doing well in the elections and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote.^[39] He was elected from the NA-71 constituency of Mianwali and being the only party member to have secured a seat, PTI won only 0.8% of the popular vote. Khan, who was sworn in as an MP on 16 November,^[40] remained part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts, and expressed legislative interest in Foreign Affairs, Education and Justice.^[41]

On 6 May 2005, Khan became one of the first Muslim figures to criticise a 300-word Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Khan held a press conference to denounce the article and demanded that Gen. Pervez Musharraf secure an apology from the American president George W. Bush for the incident.^[42]. In June 2007, the federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Khan Niazi and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party filed separate ineligibility references against Khan, asking for his disqualification as member of the National Assembly on grounds of immorality. Both references, filed on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, were rejected on 5 September.^[43]

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the Presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which General Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.^[5] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest at his father's home hours after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Khan had demanded the death penalty for Musharraf after the imposition of emergency rule, which he equated to "committing treason". The next day, on 4 November, Khan escaped and went into peripatetic hiding.^[44] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.^[45] At the rally, Khan was captured by students from the Jamaat-i-Islami political party, who claimed that Khan was an uninvited nuisance at the rally, and they handed him over to the police, who charged him under the Anti-terrorism act for allegedly inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience, and for spreading hatred.^[46].

On 30 October, 2011, Imran Khan changed the political picture of the country by addressing more than 100,000 supporters, challenging the policies of the current government, calling this new change a "tsunami" against the ruling parties,^[47] followed by another successful public gathering in Karachi on 25 December, 2011.^[48] Since then Imran Khan has become a real threat for the current ruling parties and future political prospect in Pakistan. According to International Republican Institute (IRI)'s survey, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tops the list of popular parties in Pakistan both at the national as well as provincial level, leaving Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peopleís Party (PPP) behind.^[49]

Ideology[link]

Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and the implementation of anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.^[18][26][50]

Khan told Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary."^[18] Other ideas he has presented include a requirement of all students to spend a year after graduation teaching in the countryside and cutting down the over-staffed bureaucracy in order to send them to teach too.^[51] "We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grass roots," he has said.^[52]

Criticism[link]

Khan had a child out of wedlock with Ana-Luisa White (Sita White).^[53] This was confirmed by a judgement of paternity rendered by a Superior Court of the State of California for the county of Los Angeles in favour of White^[54] wherein it was held that Khan was the father of a female child born on June 15, 1992.^{[55][56][not in citation given]} Khan did not challenge that judgement and in 2004 accepted the child as his daughter. He and his wife Jemima became the girls guardians.^{[57][58] [59] [60] [61]}

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan became known as a socialite due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, though he claims to have hated English pubs and to never drink alcohol.^{[4][8][26][42]} He gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.^[8]

Khan is often dismissed as a political lightweight^[45] and a celebrity outsider in Pakistan,^[19] where national newspapers also refer to him as a "spoiler politician".^[62] The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has asserted that Khan is "a sick person who has been a total failure in politics and is alive just because of the media coverage".^[63] Political observers say the crowds he draws are attracted by his cricketing celebrity, and the public has been reported to view him as a figure of entertainment rather than a serious political authority.^[51]

Declan Walsh in The Guardian newspaper in England in 2005 described Khan as a "miserable politician," observing that, "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next."^[64] The charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."^[19] Political commentator Najam Sethi, stated that, "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn’t inspire people."^[19]. He is also criticized for being a puppet of Pakistan's 'establishment'.^[65]