'She puts lipstick': Kareena Kapoor says her Daayra character isn't the ‘stereotypical manly, butch’ female cop in films

Kareena Kapoor plays a police officer in Meghna Gulzar's crime thriller Daayra, which also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran.

In a career spanning 25 years, Kareena Kapoor continues to find ways to break new ground. In her new film, Daayra, the actor plays a police officer. In a recent interview, Kareena described the character as challenging and admitted it was different from the stereotypical depiction of female cops in Indian films.

Kareena Kapoor in a still from Meghna Gulzar's Daayra.

Kareena Kapoor on how Daayra breaks stereotypes

At an event promoting the film in Delhi on Wednesday, Kareena spoke about how her character, DCP Ajooni, breaks stereotypes. “I think there is this stereotypical version that we have of a cop: that she is butch and she slightly has that particular walk, slightly manly, is gun-toting and does action. I think in this film, because of the sensitivity of the subject of the film also, Meghna was clear that she wanted a woman cop, somebody who is like a woman, who is feminine, who puts on lipstick but at the same time is quite stern, does everything with a smile and the way you saw her character of Ajooni who walks the road,” the actor said.

Daayra is the story of two cops at loggerheads over the correct way to punish criminals. Prithviraj Sukumaran plays the other lead in the Meghna Gulzar film. Kareena said the morally complex nature of Daayra also made Ajooni challenging to portray. “It was difficult for me also to stay on track with Ajooni because there is always going to be a conflict. I’m sure, as a director, Meghna felt that while writing it, I’m sure Prithviraj’s character, Raman, has felt that. So, it is very difficult. As a person, I walk the straight line. I like to believe that life is black and white. But in the film, it is grey. That is for sure,” she said.

Kareena also said she does not intend to move behind the camera and wants to focus solely on acting. “I think I've always wanted to try to do different characters. I love acting and don't have any other interests like producing or directing. So acting is something that I enjoy, so I'm constantly looking for something interesting to do or an interesting kind of character,” she said.

All about Daayra

Daayra is co-written and directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios. It is scheduled to release in theatres on September 18.

In an earlier interaction, Meghna's father and lyricist Gulzar had confirmed that the film has no songs. With Daayra, Kareena will return to the big screen after a two-year gap. She was last seen in the 2024 release, Singham Again.