Beautilicious Babe-Oh!

Actress Kareena Kapoor has become larger than life. C'mon, she has made it to the covers of at least five magazines in the last one month, stories about her love life eat enough and more newsprint, and her pretty face along with her sexy bod is splashed on television celluloid. Her awards for her acting histrionics and her 'exorbitant fees' are being enviously talked about... Bebo simply describes this phase as a happy one. "I couldn't be happier. I'm walking in the clouds," she told me, jab we met on the sets of Golmaal Returns .

I walk into her vanity van, and make myself comfortable, courteously refusing the cuppa chai that's offered to me. Dressed in a cowgirl avatar - micro-mini , white shirt, hat and boots - Kareena is anything but the naïve Refugee . She today comes across as a street smart individual, who oozes confidence with as much ease as she does sex appeal. I get talking about her mini-skirt, her 'super-hot' role in the action-studded Tashan, and the supposed bikini that she has worn in the film. "I promise you it's nothing vulgar," she says, "It's a compliment of sorts if I can balance the well-covered Dolly in Omkara with wearing mini-skirts. It proves that I can be molded into any role. Actors should be like clay..."

So post her action stint, can Bebo kick ass now? "That, I don't know!" she says laughing. "But it has been fun shooting. For me, those action sequences were more of a challenge. I had to lose weight for my role. I worked out, was on a strict diet. But now that the film is over, I'm back to my normal routine. I'm eating everything although I make it a point to workout everyday."

Having upped her sexy quotient, would Kareena rather be called 'beautiful' or 'sexy'? Her eyes light up with greed, "Both!" she avers, "Every woman wants to be beautiful; every woman wants to be considered sexy as well. But the challenge lies in being beautiful and sexy when you are in your everyday clothes. I live in my track pants, and when I'm called 'beautiful' and 'sexy' when in them, sans any external embellishments, I feel good."

And how good does she feel having signed up a film with John Abraham - the hot guy whom Kareena described as an 'expressionless actor' on a talk show once? "The show is not to be taken seriously. It was a fun show. And besides, John, too gave me a six on ten for acting!" she explains, getting back, adding, "No, but it'll be interesting since it'll be our first time on screen together. It's a cute love story. I'm looking forward to having a nice conversation with John. I'm sure he's a cool guy. However, I'll definitely ask him one question at the end of the shoot: How much would you rate me on ten now?"

Will working with John mean burying the hatchet with his girlfriend Bipasha Basu? "Please! Bipasha and I fought when we were in school," says Kareena, rolling those light eyes. "It was that long ago. There's no problem between us now." And pigs can fly, but never mind! In stead of speaking of BB and her Beau, I turn to questions on Bebo's Beau!

"Saif's a great guy. I'm happy with him. Sometimes articles in the papers about us take me by surprise, because there are so many things said and written that are untrue. People are forever concocting stories, opining, assuming things, but I can't waste time clarifying. I have work to do and a life to live!" We are out of her vanity van, now. As I walk out of the sets, she continues her walk... in the clouds!

Urvashi Ashar, Indiatimes Movies