Kareena Kapoor Khan on Ageing and Desirability: ‘I Don’t Care What People Say’
Her body, once a national fixation during the “size zero” phase, is no longer a talking point she entertains, says Kareena Kapoor Khan
In an industry that has long treated youth as the ultimate currency for women, Kareena Kapoor Khan is done negotiating with the mirror.
“I don’t care what people say," she says, with her typical candour. Nearly three decades into her career, Kapoor-Khan says she has “been there, done that, seen it all.” While her early career was marked by aspirational, blockbuster cinema, today, she actively seeks out a challenge. “What excites me more is [a challenge], like going bare in The Buckingham Murders.” In choosing to go bare-faced, with minimal makeup and styling, she further rejects the emphasis placed on a leading woman's appearance, age and fashion.
Her body, once a national fixation during the “size zero” phase, is no longer a talking point she entertains. “I’ve been a size zero and I’ve been a size ten, and I want to own it,” she says, matter-of-factly. "Of course, in terms of fashion, and couture, I will do and wear exactly what I feel in the moment, but I always want to be known for the actor that I am," she adds. While the noise around women's bodies continues, Kapoor-Khan, it seems, has moved on. "I'm have a blast in my forties!" she exclaims. There is a clear dismissal of the collective panic that often surrounds ageing. For her, ageing isn't a liability, or a call for a rebrand: it is simply a natural progression that is inevitable. "This is it, it’s 2026, I’m going to be 46, I’m a mother of two, and I believe I look amazing,” she smiles.
The anxiety around ageing, she suggests, is sustained by denial. “How long are you going to keep running away from ageing?” she asks. In a culture that is bent on preserving a woman's youth, her refusal to apologise for her age—or to hide it—is refreshing.