Kareena Kapoor Shares Directors Hailed Saif At Special 'Omkara' Screening Hosted By Her: 'I Expected Everyone To...'

Kareena Kapoor shared her pride in her performance and recalled how she hosted a special screening for renowned directors, expecting to receive praise for her work in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Omkara'.

Kareena Kapoor is celebrating 25 years in the film industry this year. Over the past two and a half decades, she has established herself not only as a movie star but also as a performer capable of delivering strong, impactful roles. One such memorable role was in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 'Omkara', where Kareena portrayed the director’s version of Desdemona, in the film based on Shakespeare’s 'Othello'.

When Kareena Kapoor hosted special screening of Omkara

At a recent event, Kareena shared her pride in her performance and recalled how she hosted a special screening for renowned directors, expecting to receive praise for her work in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Omkara'. However, to her surprise, Saif Ali Khan’s portrayal of Langda Tyagi stole the spotlight, leaving everyone in awe of him.

Speaking at the event, Kareena explained that she arranged a special trial screening and invited prominent directors, including Mani Ratnam. “I thought, this is such a strong performance, I should invite all the directors. From Mani Ratnam to everyone... I’m going to have this trial and invite them all because I believe I’ve done really well in this movie. I organized it at Film City, and everyone was there—Vishal, Konkona Sensharma, Vivek Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, everyone. I was excited for them to see me as Desdemona,” she recalled.

 

However, during the interval, the buzz was all about Saif. By the end of the film, the audience was mesmerized by him. “At the interval, everyone came out and said, ‘You were really good, we loved everyone, but Saif was amazing.’

And then, after the movie ended, it was all ‘You were fab, but where’s Saif?’ I thought, ‘What is happening? I invited everyone to praise me!’ Suddenly, everyone just flocked to Saif to compliment him,” she recounted with a laugh. 

Kareena and Saif started dating a few years after 'Omkara', and they are now married with two children.

 

At the same event, which was part of a film festival celebrating her 25 years in the industry, Kareena was asked about Saif’s reaction to the experience. She shared that he was “extremely happy about it” and mentioned that he’s looking forward to watching 'Omkara' and 'Ashoka' at the festival.