I know I will be good at it: Kareena Kapoor Khan

Action is one genre that Kareena Kapoor Khan has not tried in her over 20-year-old career in Bollywood, but the actor says voicing Black Widow in the Hindi adaptation of Marvel Wastelanders has piqued her interest in it.

She hopes directors will explore female action-oriented movies given the interest of many heroines in this space. “There have been so many actors here doing action-packed roles. Maybe now people will explore female-action oriented (films). But I, personally, haven't done something like that, like a cool assassin or spy, because I am always shying away from action. Somehow, I don't know if I would be able to do action, but I know I will be good at it. You never know, now I am giving my voice, next maybe, you don't know...” the 42-year-old actor told PTI in an interview here.

Known for her genre-bending performance in movies such as “Jab We Met”, “Chameli”, the “Golmaal” series, “Udta Punjab” and “Laal Singh Chaddha”, Kareena said she was initially scared to take up action roles as it required her to do stunts.

“I made it so clear that I am not open to action that people are now scared to offer an action movie. I have been scared to do stunts, harness, I don't know (why). Now, everything is done so amazingly well,” she added.

Both Kareena and her actor-husband Saif Ali Khan will voice iconic Marvel characters Black Widow and Peter Quill, respectively, in two separate shows for the Hindi adaptation of Marvel's audio series “Wastelanders”.

The actor said she is honoured that Indian actors are getting the opportunity to be working in Hollywood, but she isn't looking for something in the West as her children, Taimur and Jeh, are still young.

“People from here are going to the West, hoping that a lot of actors from the west would come here, we would be equally honoured and excited. I don't mind working with Ryan Gosling. “I never wanted to do that (act in Hollywood). I am too rooted here. My babies are too young, I got married and everything happened so fast. Now, it is impossible to leave them. But, Marvel comes here,” she said.

Kareena is thrilled that the new Marvel Audible series will be in Hindi because it has Indian performers, including her. "These characters are going to be Indian and are going to be owned by Indian actors through their voice, which everyone across India and globe will be hearing,” she added.

The Hindi Audible Original podcast show was originally launched as an English-language series in June 2021, and is made up of six seasons — “Marvel's Wastelanders: Star-Lord”, “Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye”, “Marvel's Wastelanders: Black Widow”, “Marvel's Wastelanders: Wolverine”, “Marvel's Wastelanders: Doom” and “Marvel's Wastelanders”, which will culminate the epic series with a stunning finale.

Kareena shared that her actor husband Saif thought she would be a good voice for the character of Black Widow, a role that is synonymous with Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson, who played the iconic part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

“They (makers) cast our voice at the same time because I remember telling Saif, 'I am offered Black Widow' and he was like, 'You have to do it because you are the perfect Black Widow and there is no one else who could dub it'. I kept reading about her character and figured that I was resonating with it a lot. Saif has already lent his voice for his character. We are very excited about it. Lending your voice for a character can be quite challenging for an actor," the actor said, adding they are more used to performing for the combined audio-visual medium. “As an actor, I am used to having a visual in front of me and enacting whether you are performing or dubbing. Here, you don't have anything, you have to visualise and imagine it. So, it is a lot more hard work,” she said.

“This universe is action-packed. There is a lot of movement, there is falling, flying, then there are dialogues that you have to say. All that will be interesting and challenging,” she added.

On the film front, Kareena has three projects: “The Crew” with Tabu and Kriti Sanon, a thriller with Sujoy Ghosh titled “The Devotion of Suspect X”, which is based on the 2005 bestselling Japanese novel of the same name, and a murder mystery with Hansal Mehta. The actor said she is looking forward to collaborating with both Ghosh and Mehta, whom she referred to as masters in filmmaking.

Kareena said both these movies are different from the usual commercial entertainers, which she will continue to be part of going forward. “I wanted to work with both Sujoy and Hansal, they both are masters in their craft. Like, I saw Hansal's ‘Faraaz', and it is a poignant, brave film to have been made in today's time. It is a masterpiece according to me. "It is not about (not) doing commercial films anymore. Of course, that will always be there. ‘The Crew' is pretty much going to have a song and dance about everything. These movies are also different. They are challenging me and are entertaining as well. I have enjoyed the most with Hansal and Sujoy.”

(PTI)