My backless poster is not vulgar

Kareena Kapoor says there is nothing "vulgar" about her backless shot being used for the publicity posters of forthcoming release "Kurbaan", an intense thriller about terrorism. In fact, she says, it subtly reveals a lot about the story.

"This shot of me in a backless posture and Saif with a wound on his chest tell so much about the film's theme," Kareena told IANS.

"There is love, passion and violence - all combined in here and what better way than to show it through a single still? You too would agree that there is nothing sleazy or vulgar about it. Knowing the sensibilities of Karan Johar (producer) and Rensil D'Silva (director), that's the least one could have expected," she added.

Kareena said that after Geet in "Jab We Met", her character of Avantika in "Kurbaan" will make people sit up and take notice.

"The girl's role has a lot of edge in 'Kurbaan', something which starts becoming more and more visible as the film unfolds. In any case the film is not one of those cliched love stories. Every character has quite a few layers to it and Avantika, the character I play, is no exception. She is quite pivotal to 'Kurbaan'," she said.

Kareena plays a professor in "Kurbaan" who gets married to her colleague, played by Saif Ali Khan. They move to New York after marriage, but as a series of events unfold she finds herself into a vortex of danger and intrigue.

She further realises that she is a pawn in a huge game and no one could be trusted.

"What made this role special is the fact that I play this young beautiful professor who is quite normal. She reacts to terrorism for the first time and life is never the same again for her," she said.

"Actually if you ask me, then technically 'Kurbaan' is the story of this girl. She is the light of the screen. I am sure people will cry with Avantika...so strong is her characterisation," the actress said.

After "Jab We Met", Kareena was seen in "Main Aurr Mrs Khanna", "Kambakkht Ishq", "Tashan" and "Golmaal Returns". And except "Golmaal Returns", none of the films did well at the box office.

Kareena is delighted about the prospects of audiences seeing her in a different light after the film and says it is not a frothy romance drama.

"'Kurbaan' has a deep-rooted love story to it, but it is not a frothy romantic film that we are time and again exposed to. The love story is much deeper here. There is a definite meaning, purpose and reason to it. Also, the film is quite powerful in its own way since it's the voice of moderate Islam," she said.

The film, which also stars Vivek Oberoi, Om Puri, Kirron Kher and Dia Mirza, is releasing Nov 20.

Indo-Asian News Service