This year, Bodyguard and RA.One have both raked in over Rs 100 crore, making it a successful year for Kareena Kapoor, the female lead of both films. And cashing in on the films’ good run at the box office, the actor has decided to hike her fee. Apparently, she will pocket over Rs 7 crore for her next, Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine.

“Bebo was offered Heroine twice, but she didn’t give it a green signal because she and the makers, UTV and Bhandarkar, couldn’t agree on the fee. But now, things are sorted,” says a close associate of the actor. If the reported amount is true, Kareena will replace Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Bollywood’s highest paid female actor, according to trade sources. The latter had starred alongside Rajinikanth in Robot last year for a reported fee of around Rs 6 crore.

Ask Kareena to comment and she says that she’s “up for the challenge” in terms of her role, but refuses to talk about money. “Till date, I’ve never discussed my pay cheque in the media. But for Heroine, I am getting only what I rightly deserve,” she says with a smile. In the recent past, she has acted in blockbusters like 3 Idiots (Rs 200 crore, 2009) and Golmaal 3 (over Rs 100 crore, 2010). But she is wary of the pressure that comes with her success: “On the first day of the shoot, I was nervous because there’s a lot of pressure. We plan to do something very different.”

The actor was also recently voted the sexiest Asian woman in the world by the weekly newspaper, Eastern Eye. She says, “I couldn’t really believe it. I started laughing when I was told about it. I am not used to it. And that too from Asia, which is a huge continent. The thought is scary and unbelievable. When I told Saif, he was like, ‘Why Asia? It’s in the world.’ I think that was quite sweet.”

And although Kareena has been anointed the ‘100-crore heroine’, having worked in four such films 3 Idiots, Golmaal 3, Bodyguard and RA.One, she hopes Heroine too rakes in the money. She says, “That’s all because the pressure (of the 100-crore tag) is on my head.”

The original choice for Heroine’s lead role, Kareena only stepped into the project once Aishwarya backed out after announcing she was pregnant. Nonetheless, she’s looking forward to her role: “My character in the film is me. It’s something I can relate to, and so I hope I will be able to do it well.”