Bollywood’s A-list actress Kareena Kapoor Khan has been appointed India’s national ambassador by humanitarian group UNICEF.
UNICEF has worked in India for 75 years and Kapoor Khan has served as the organization’s superstar advocate since 2014. In her new role, the actress will help UNICEF India advance every child’s right to development, well-being, schooling and gender in early childhood. equality.
Talking to Selection from UN Headquarters, Delhi, before signing on as ambassador, Kapoor Khan said, “When I got in touch with them, I was excited to work for them in early childhood education because it has always been a subject that is very close to my heart and When I had children, my natural intuition was shifting towards children’s rights.
Kapoor Khan and her husband, actor Saif Ali Khan, have two younger children. “We always used to talk about the fact that how can my voice be heard across India, to provide children across the country, their basic rights, whether it’s best for immunizations, for vaccinations, for gender equality, talking about like safety, the safe environment that children should develop and like schooling in the first five years of schooling for children is so important, childhood,” said Kapoor Khan.
“I worked with a lot of effort and care (with UNICEF) and we achieved wonderful work. We went to universities, talked to people and arrived at their properties. I have done a lot of work in Madhya Pradesh, we have reached out to schools in Delhi, in Mumbai,” added Kapoor Khan. “It’s something that now I’m so close to having two kids of my own that I have so much love and excitement for. I really feel like it’s come full circle and the journey, this new chapter is about to begin, and I’m so excited.”
In addition to private visits, Kapoor Khan will also act in UNICEF films advocating for children’s rights that will be released internationally. The actress said her work with UNICEF over the past decade and her personal motherhood made her realize that children need to be heard and that they need to be nurtured. Kapoor Khan may also actively seek to encourage children who show talent for the humanities.
“Art is something that I believe opens children’s minds, whether in speech, drama or painting, it is something that I also want to encourage, without a doubt. We had a learning program where people learn different stories in different languages, it didn’t matter in which language you communicate, because the idea was a form of communication. We did a whole episode on children’s learning, it could very well be in the many languages we communicate across India. But the truth is to encourage them to do so,” said Kapoor Khan. “I encourage my own children, not just in drama or speech, I mean my three-year-old, he just picks up a pen and starts doodling or drawing. And sometimes I think it’s a work of art. Now we have to find the positivity in this. In fact, it doesn’t have to be excellent. It simply needs to be reached and inspired.”
The actor’s most recent theatrical release is “Crew”, which is probably one of the biggest Indian hits of 2024. Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon play flight attendants at a bankrupt airline who get involved in smuggling gold for a fictional company . Center the Japanese nation in an operation that will financially save them and their unpaid colleagues. Producers Ektaa R Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor are mulling a sequel.
“If there’s a movie that deserves a sequel, it’s ‘Crew,’ because I think it was a really refreshing take on girls standing up for themselves, using their minds, standing up for their rights, in a really fun way of meaning. It wasn’t a preaching… it’s a film, it’s leisure. And that’s why I think the film did well, because I think women and families and people went somewhere and loved and supported the film,” said Kapoor Khan.
The actor is currently filming “Singham Again”, the latest in Rohit Shetty’s crime universe that features Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Tiger Shroff among the male leads, which she describes as an “all-male testosterone film”. ” “We have Deepika (Padukone) and I in the film, where we have very strong elements. But of course it will be really different, it is the big Bollywood bonanza for this year, and I am sure people will like it,” said Kapoor Khan.
Kapoor Khan also has Hansal Mehta’s “The Buckingham Murders” – where she plays a detective and mother who, after leaving her own son, must investigate the murder of a 10-year-old in Buckinghamshire – in line for release. Last year, the actor headlined the Netflix original film “Jaane Jaan,” which became the world’s first non-English film for the streamer and was also in the top 10 in 52 countries.
At the UN House for Khan ceremony, UNICEF India also announced the appointment of its first young champions, who have specific interests. Gauranshi Sharma from Madhya Pradesh specializes in the best of play and disability inclusion; Kartik Verma From Uttar Pradesh, climate change and defending children’s rights; Nahid Afrin from Assam, psychological well-being and improving early childhood, while Vinisha Umashankar from Tamil Nadu is a rising innovator.