Karishma, the elder sister, came to Bollywood when the winds of economic liberalization had not yet touched the film industry. Though Hindi films were seen privately by Indians residing abroad and in countries of Asia and Africa, where they were popular, Bollywood truly took the West by storm and became the flavour of the decade after 1997 when films began to cater specifically to the nuveau riche population of immigrants. Subhash Ghai’s Pardes led the procession in 1997 and many films followed, earning megabucks in the UK and US markets. Foreign locations, designer clothes and make up, stories spanning continents – all these created a world-class canvas for Bollywood.
Karishma – The Bridge Between Old Bollywood And New Global Bollywood: Karishma as one of the top heroines – was the bridge between these two distinct eras. She made films with garish stories, dressed in garish clothes and gauche hairstyles. But over a period of time, under the expert care of Manish Malhotra and other designers, she emerged like a resplendent butterfly from a chrysalis, to become one of the most glamorous and sought after actresses with hits like Raja Hindustani. She also acted in some fine films like Zubaida and Fiza, made by Shyam Benegal and Khalid Mohamed respectively. Karishma is now married and mother of a daughter.
Kareena – The Queen Of Sex And Glamour: Kareena came into a readymade ‘international’ Bollywood. At 20, she had a big budget film – Refugee made by J P Dutta – as a launch pad with Abhishek Bachchan. At 24 today, she has worked with most A-list directors in their super hit films and also made path-breaking films like Chameli, Yuva, Fida and the latest hit, Hulchul. Like other young actresses like Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, Kareena is fortunate to design her career in an age when Bollywood is enjoying unprecedented worldwide popularity and the techniques of film making and presenting an actress – in terms of wardrobe and look – are going through a revolution. Karishma and Kareena have proved that sisters can be equally glamorous and sexy – though each is as different from the other as chalk and cheese!
