Kambakkht Ishq according to ads in newspapers opened to a 30 crore collection—bigger than ace Aamir Khan’s Ghajini (as per the claims), but leading lady Kareena has barely had time to savour the success. Just back from the outdoor shoot for Three Idiots, she did attend the party thrown by lead star Akshay Kumar, but is down with a viral infection. “We pretty much expected it to be big,” she says between snivels and sniffs. Adding, when asked about the criticism of the film’s dialogues being crude, “There is nothing of the sort and it (the criticism) has to be taken with a pinch of salt.”

Personally, her favourite bit is the first part that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. “It happens that way in real life too when two people can’t stand each other,” she explains with a laugh. As for her favourite dress from the movie - it was the little black dress she sports in Amrita’s wedding scene.

An uber-glam Kapoor as the surgeon- cum-supermodel is among the redeeming features of the film and the actor is well aware of it. “I take great pride in dressing up the way I did. I can walk in stilettoes in Kambakkht Ishq or wear dusty chappals in Omkara- it’s the different roles I play and I have no problem in carrying off the look one way or the other. An actor has to keep reinventing. I would like people to think of me as a versatile actor.”

Interestingly beau Saif Ali Khan’s Love Aaj Kal up for release is creating a lot of buzz. Kapoor, who was reportedly miffed at having been left out of the film after a stellar performance in Jab We Met sounds anything but that. “I have watched Love Aaj Kal and it is very enjoyable. Deepika is good in the film. If it does well, as I am sure it will, Saif and I will throw a joint party to celebrate the success of both our films.”

In characteristic style she follows the masala KI with Kurban, a film about terrorism. “It’s a very good film. I play a Hindu girl who gets embroiled in terrorist situation and no, it is not the same story as New York,” she answers pre-empting the natural corollary to the first part of my question. As for expectations from the Saif-Kareena pairing, she avers, “The media creates the hype…Audiences don’t have those expectations - if the script works, they would be accepting us.”

The couple also have Agent Vinod, Saif’s second home production to be directed by Sriram Raghavan - the shoot begins in October - but before that there is Karan Johar’s version of the Hollywood film Stepmom wherein Kapoor plays Julia Robert’s role. “It is a great honour that Karan approached me for the role. Kajol has been an inspiration, so I am very excited and honoured about share screen space with her,” she says. The look is what is being worked on with Manish Malhotra and the reported short-hairstyle part has not been finalised yet.

The other combination she is very enthused about is Three Idiots in which she has teamed up with Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani. “Just the way Aamir is passionate and energetic about his work is admirable. I can understand that because I am equally passionate about my work,” enthuses Kapoor. It was evident in that the actor who dropped several sizes for her role in Tashan, stayed with it till the completion of Kambakkht Ishq. She is finally back to “a normal diet” as none of her immediate projects require the reed-thin look.