From the sassy streetwalker in Sudhir Mishra's "Chameli" to the Muslim riot victim in Govind Nihlani's "Dev" and now to the stunningly amoral wanton-woman in Ken Ghosh's "Fida", 2004 has been a momentous year for Kareena Kapoor.

From "Refugee" to "Fida", it's been a truly maddening and turbulent three-year career for one of Bollywood's most sought after actresses.

If she knew her potential as completely as Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta or Rani Mukherjee, Kareena would've by now become a major phenomenon of Indian cinema instead of being one of the most intriguing and appealing possibilities that she is right now.

Her attitude to life and career swings between I-don't-care and I-live-and-die-for-what-I-believe-in. There's never a middle path, never a chance of finding a balance between those two extremes.

Daughter of caprice and wizard of whimsy, Kareena goes completely by what her heart tells her. In the process if she ends up looking somewhat contradictory, then so be it, Kareena doesn't care. She lives for the moment and crams all her intensity into it, not sparing a thought for what's gone and what's waiting around the corner.

The makeover from the simple salwar-kameez clad girl in "Refugee" to the pouting seductress Poo in "K3G" was startling -- and complete. Kareena's priorities had transformed completely. "I realise I can't be paid what I am for being draped from head to toe. I've to be glamorous and seductive. That's what being a saleable heroine of today is all about," she says.

During the making of "K3G" it was clear to all who the queen on the sets was. Not Kajol, not even the Bachchans, it was Kareena who was pampered silly by the Johars. It was as though everyone saw she was the superstar in the making. Somehow the commercial success never really happened. But it didn't stop her rapid climb to being a youth icon.

"I must be the only actress in the world whose brand equity increases every time I give a flop," she once laughed with that don't-care-a-damn toss of her hair, which makes her such a favourite among the generation that believes in self-regard being the highest form of creativity.

Somewhere down the line her headstrong attitude cost her dearly. She lost big banner films like Karan Johar. She said no to the offer to do "Kal Ho Na Ho" because, according to her, she was being offered peanuts. She also said no to Deepa Mehta and Rituparno Ghosh's offer to do "Water" and "Raincoat" after saying yes.

"Fida", where she co-stars with her boyfriend Shahid Kapur, is a momentous turn for her and not just because she plays a negative character for the first time. Right now, Kareena is a girl completely consumed by love. Her other friends and well wishers have ceased to matter. "Fida" has to click because she wants her man to become a superstar at any cost.

If "Fida" doesn't work she'll be heartbroken, not for herself but for Shahid Kapur.