Manish
Malhotra
is
having
a
hard
time
trying
to
bring
down
Kareena
Kapoor's
glamour-quotient
in
Stepmom,
to
make
her
look
like
the
ordinary
working
woman.
Kareena
is
leaving
nothing
to
chance
this
time.
In
her
determination
to
make
sure
she
can
match
strides
with
the
formidable
scene-stealer
Kajol
in
the
desi
Stepmom,
she
has
been
quietly
attending
acting
workshops
with
the
film's
director
Siddharth
Malhotra.
To
make
time
for
this,
Kareena
has
been
stealing
time
out
of
the
rehearsals
for
the
song
that
she
began
shooting
with
Aamir
Khan
in
3
Idiots
this
week.
Playing
Kajol's
soutan
in
the
Indian
Stepmom
won't
be
a
cakewalk
for
Kareena
Kapoor.
The
two
actresses
start
shooting
together
from
the
end
of
this
month.
Says
Kareena,
"The
last
time
I
rehearsed
for
a
part
it
was
for
Vishal
Bhardwaj's
Omkara.
However,
that
was
a
more
unconventional
film
and
role
where
I
had
to
get
into
a
milieu
and
character
I
knew
nothing
about.
But
Stepmom
is
urban
and
very
contemporary.
I
play
a
very
normal
metro-centric
working
girl.
It
should've
been
easier."
Through
the
workshops,
Kareena
is
discovering
how
difficult
it
is
to
play
a
normal
girl.
"I
walk
talk
dress
like
an
ordinary
working
girl.
I'll
be
using
no
makeup."
The
clothes
by
Manish
Malhotra
will
on
this
occasion
be
far
less
glamorous
than
what
Kareena
generally
gets
to
wear.
"I
couldn't
cut
my
hair
as
planned
because
of
continuity
clashes.
And
I
didn't
want
to
cut
my
long
hair.
But
I'm
going
for
a
new
hairstyle."
The
biggest
challenge
is
to
face
the
camera
with
the
indomitable
Kajol.
Says
Kareena,
"She's
always
been
one
of
my
favourite
actresses.
We
worked
together
in
Kabhi
Khushi
Kabhie
Gham.
But
this
is
something
else."
Kareena
says
there
are
lots
of
dramatic
scenes
between
the
two
women.
"The
desi
version
of
Stepmom
is
very
different
from
the
original.
My
role
is
also
a
big
departure
from
what
Julia
Roberts
played
in
Stepmom."