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The gorgeous Kareena Kapoor did not always have her famous curves.
There was a time she was a chubby teenager, and called herself a 'tomboy'.
After she joined the movies, Kareena groomed herself into one of the hottest actresses in the industry. She experimented with her looks through the years -- from her blonde look which she later regretted to her Size Zero phase that lasted quite a while.
In a book that she has co-authored along with Rochelle Pinto -- The Style Diary of a Bollywood Diva -- Kareena talks in detail about her various fashion inspirations, and gives interesting tips on style, diet and fitness.
Here's the first part of an excerpt from the book:
I used to be just Bebo, the girl next door. Both Lolo and I lived a pretty regular middle-class life in South Mumbai. Our weekends were spent between going to church with Mom and swimming with our friends at the Breach Candy club.
That was as far as our diva upbringing went! The only time I would be the centre of attention was on 21 September: my birthday.
But even then it was the Goriawala Care Bear birthday cake which was the real star of the party, not me. It was the one indulgence my parents would allow me, without any fuss.
Excerpted from the book Kareena Kapoor The Style Diary of a Bollywood Diva with Rochelle Pinto, published by Penguin Books India, with the publisher's permission, Rs 700.
Like most kids, we were only allowed to eat home-cooked food because my mother was very particular about our health. Even french fries, which anybody will tell you is my single most-favourite meal in the whole world, was made from scratch in my mom's kitchen.
My regular routine after school was sitting with my plate of fries and ketchup in front of the TV, watching Dynasty or a good Hindi movie.
Our school tiffins were jam or marmalade sandwiches with an apple. No canteen food for the Kapoor girls!
But of course, whenever I got the chance, I'd sneak out to the crushed-ice-gola stall or the roadside paani puri wala on Pali Hill. The sev puris were my favourite, and he knew how to make them exactly like I wanted them: extra spicy. I never told my mother, but I guess I didn't have to.
She always found out because I would always fall sick the very next day, and get a 'serves you right' from her.
When I look back at that time, I'm so grateful to my parents for making sure that I grew up as a normal kid. I got to enjoy the best of both worlds, and I wouldn't change a minute of it.
Though I have to say Lolo is undoubtedly the coolest elder sister anyone could have. She never ignored me or treated me like the annoying kid-sister who wanted to follow her everywhere.
In fact, she indulged me quite a bit, taking me around and letting me hang out with her friends. Since she was already earning her own money, I was the beneficiary.
She was probably the person who introduced me to the beautiful world of fashion that I would soon fall completely in love with. She bought me my first piece of designer clothing ever! It was this gorgeous Jean Paul Gaultier newspaper print see-through top.
My friends were even more excited than I once they saw the label. Any special occasion and I would wear my Gaultier top and feel like an absolute star!