Kareena Kapoor Khan, known for her strong screen presence and performances across genres, has worked with all three Khans of Bollywood—Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan. However, an old interview reveals that she didn’t hold Salman Khan in the same regard as the other two.
In a conversation with journalist Umesh Jivnani years ago, Kareena openly admitted her admiration for Shah Rukh Khan, calling him one of the only actors she truly admires alongside Amitabh Bachchan. “I’m totally in love with him. Don’t even ask me about him because if I start, I won’t stop talking about him for hours,” she had said.
She admired Shah Rukh’s “boy-next-door” charm and described his acting as amusing and endearing, saying he’s the kind of person girls would want to take home to meet their parents. Aamir Khan, she said, was “good,” and noted his performances in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak as memorable. Still, she admitted to being a full-on Shah Rukh fan.
When it came to Salman Khan, Kareena was candid in her critique. “I’m not at all a Salman fan. I don’t like him; he’s a very bad actor. I tell him that he hams all the time,” she said, sparking strong opinions among fans when the clip resurfaced.
Despite her past remarks, Kareena has shared the screen with Salman Khan in several films including Bodyguard (2011), Kyon Ki (2005), and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (2009), where their chemistry contributed to the films’ box office performances.
With Shah Rukh, she was seen in Asoka (2001) and the sci-fi film Ra.One (2011). Her pairing with Aamir Khan proved iconic in 3 Idiots (2009) and Laal Singh Chaddha (2022), earning both critical and commercial acclaim.
While her preferences in actors may have evolved over time, the resurfaced interview offers an unfiltered glimpse into Kareena’s early views on Bollywood’s biggest stars.