Even without her now so famous serial, Kareena Kareena, on Zee TV, Kulraaj Kaur Randhawa would easily pass off as the sweet young Punjabi cutie next door. But after Kareena Kareena her fame as the cute girl next door has become nationwide. Kulraaj was not a very known face in showbiz before Kareena Kareena happened last October. But after that there has been no looking back for this dimpled beauty. Today Kareena Kareena is one of the maximum TRP-fetching serials on Zee along with Astitva and Tumhari Disha. A title role and moreso an opportunity to do something different from what the usual Tulsis, Parvatis and Prernas are doing on primetime in other channels.

In a candid chat, Kulraaj first reveals a little about her background, ?I?m from Chandigarh. But I have travelled around the country as I belong to an armed forces/defence background. In a way my background has helped me to understand Kareena, who comes from a small town, well?.

It?s a known fact that Mumbai is a hard city, not very kind to outsiders who come to struggle and make a name in the world of glitz and glamour. Kulraaj has been lucky as she is only about one and half years old in the city. But surely her talent has also contributed to this luck of hers. ?I had done a short acting course with Kishore Namit Kapoor and then this role came my way. I jumped at this offer as I did not want to do the usual saas-bahu stuff. A title role on primetime is every newcomer?s dream come true.?

Looking at bubbly Kulraaj, the casting seems to be very correct. Ask her about the USP of the show and she says, ?The fact that in my debut role I have been able play two characters. Kareena keeps lying and plays dual roles in life ?-- one, of a married woman in a sari and the other which is of a GenX girl, a radio jockey. Each time Kareena lies to get out of a tricky situation, it becomes trickier and funny in the process.?

One thing Hollywoodish about Kareena Kareena is the fact that she speaks to the audience, Ally Mcbeal style. Another unique feature is that the show does not have cliches like background laughter (so common in sitcoms otherwise) or going out of the way to make people laugh. The comedy here is very natural. Zee TV again tried to make the show unique by pulling in celebrities from different fields to do their bit for the cameras. So Brett Lee, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Abhishek Bachchan. Kulraaj shares with us a desire: ?I am really fond of Abhishek Bachchan. I hope to be in the movies with him soon.?

Ask her about her Dubai experience of shooting with another favourite, Shah Rukh Khan, and she gets ecstatic. ?It was a very small shoot but it is definitely a dream come true. Shah Rukh is definitely every good actor?s role model. And importantly, he too made his beginning with television.? The episode was the Valentines? Day special on Zee TV.

Her favourite TV actor? ?It?s Pankaj Kapur. I find him very versatile. Among the new generation, Mannini De is good.? And is there anyone who is hot on TV? ?Come on,? she says, that?s a difficult question to answer.? Maybe she thinks unlike films on TV there are not too many hot bods around.

For most TV actors it happens that long working hours come in the way of their personal life. ?But this is a very natural thing if you are in a daily. Either it?s work or it?s other things. Moreover in Mumbai I stay alone and it?s like work, work all the way.? But she does not mind the fact that people now recognise her more as Kareena than as Kulraaj. ?The show has definitely given me an identity,? she admits.

The real Kulraaj is not used to the sari though she carries a sari very well in the serial. Her personal style off-camera is ?Western casuals like any other youngster?. Ask her about her childhood days and she gets a little nostalgic. ?I have spent many years of my childhood in boarding schools. But as a kid I wasn?t very girly. I liked toy cars more than dolls or soft toys. Even today cars remain a passion.?

At the moment, she is totally into work and is happy with her single status. ?I will definitely let you know if I see some one!? she quips. When quizzed about her future plans she said, ?As I said I would love to grow and act in films soon.? But what about the recent skin show that?s happening in films; did it make her shy away from films in the first place? ?Acting is not limited to the constraints of skin show. It?s the talent that matters,? comes the pat reply.