Rajiv Vijayakar speaks to the only actress currently giving
Kareena Kapoor a run for her money — Katrina Kaif — on her spate of hit
blockbusters, her growth as an actress and her experience with some of
the heavyweights of Bollywood.
The bimbette of Boom has transformed — and how!
Though her earlier films saw her essentially as a Barbie brand of eye
candy, Katrina Kaif has moved fast since her debut with that Hinglish
film in 2003 to become a frontline star today.
Her Hindi debut,
in Sohail Khan’s Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya (2005), saw her override her
Westernised features and British accent to show that she has what it
takes to be a successful Hindi film heroine.
The association with
Salman Khan may have helped her at best with a handful of assignments,
but the actress has worked on all her weak areas (like diction)
painstakingly, to emerge a winner. She is considered as Kareena Kapoor’s
only rival at the top slot, with a better box office average than any
star, Kareena included, in the last 25 years!
To chalk up names
like David Dhawan, Ram Gopal Varma, Priyadarshan, Anees Bazmee, Rajkumar
Santoshi, Prakash Jha, Subhash Ghai, Yash and Aditya Chopra, Karan
Johar, UTV, T-Series, Vipul Shah, Anil Sharma and Farah Khan in such a
short span of time is no easy achievement, especially given her
background.
Movies such as Namastey London (2007), New York
(2009), Raajneeti (2010) and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) have shown
that Katrina has a lot of substance as well.
Khan-do attitudeIn
fact, the last film proved conclusively that she can carry a film on
her slender shoulders. It is after this film that Yash Raj Films signed
her on for three films, one each with the three reigning Khans — Salman
Khan in the just-released blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger, Shah Rukh Khan in a
directorial venture marking Yash Chopra’s return after eight years, and
Aamir Khan in Dhoom:3.
Her sunny temperament and million-dollar
smile could make your day. Katrina is the epitome of charm when we catch
up with her at Yash Raj Studios, on the eve of the release of her
latest film. Of late, Katrina has always stressed that she will do only
substantial roles. Ask her about this and she says, “Ek Tha Tiger is a
love story.
Kabir Khan, my director, is a trusted friend since
the days of New York, in which he gave me one of my earliest dramatic
roles. We have remained in touch since and this is a role stronger than
the one I played in that film.
I am working with all the Khans
now, but I would not do any of these films if my roles were not strong,
just as I would not insist that every script revolves around me. And I
choose my films now with a mix of my heart and brain and above all, my
instinct. If I love it, I will do it, even if the commercial angle does
not look that strong.”
About her action sequences in this film,
she says, “I felt very safe doing them, thanks to the rehearsals. We
rehearsed on location in Cuba and for me, these fight sequences were
like dance numbers, except that the pace was much faster!”
Of
course, Katrina loves her song and dance too. “I love our songs and the
audiences really adore them. They are the greatest connection with the
people. The response that music evokes is phenomenal and can sometimes
equal a great performance, like in the case of Chikni chameli. That is
why even Mashallah has helped the film’s appeal,” she says.
How
was it working with Salman Khan for the first time after Yuvvraaj and
the end of their romantic relationship? “Salman has not changed. He has
always been the same and we remain great friends.
We have always
been there for each other and nothing comes in the way of that. Since
2010, he’s become very big as a star, but personally he has not changed
at all. It’s the circumstances around him that have changed — the way he
is perceived and so on.”
What about the general opinion that he
should now settle down in matrimony? “If he had found the right girl, he
would have done so, right?” she counters with a smile, as she adds in a
sweet but matter-of-fact tone, “Why should someone marry because others
feel that he should, or because he is old enough to marry?”
Did
she recommend Kabir Khan as a director, after New York, to Salman?
Katrina surprisingly reveals that it was the other way round. Salman had
watched a documentary done by Kabir even before he directed his first
feature and when Katrina was in a dilemma about accepting New York, and
had asked Salman for his opinion, he had told her to blindly go ahead
when she had mentioned the director’s name.
She has sized up the
three Khans clearly, even if she has not yet shot with Aamir Khan. “We
have met on the sets, though. I think all three of them are complete
professionals. Someone asked me what I think of the rivalry between
them, but again, that’s a public perception created by the media. I do
not think they look at each other that way.
And there must be something in them because of which they have ruled for 20 years, right?”
Why
have none of the younger stars like Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan been
able to make a dent in the reign of the Khans and also take on Akshay
Kumar or Ajay Devgn? “I do not think anyone has an answer to that, and
that’s the beauty of this industry, which is so unpredictable and where
the possibilities are endless.” Diplomacy, too, has been clearly
mastered by Ms Kaif.
As the outsider who has made it big, what is
her own take on her success? “I don’t know,” she says with another
dazzling smile. “Maybe it is hard work?”
Buzz was that she was
very nervous on the sets of the Yash Chopra film. Was that because of
Shah Rukh? “No, it was because I was working with Yash ji as a director
and he is so senior in this field — he has been a director for more than
50 years!” she says.
“With Shah Rukh Khan, the intimidation
level was perhaps less, because, I had not really watched the films that
have made him what he is,” she adds candidly.
How does she respond to criticism as an actress? “Ummm…I have faced a lot of it and I do consider what is written about me.
But if I have done my best then I do not let negative reports bother
me. If a journalist just wants to attack me, then I know I cannot change
things and so there is no point in getting hassled anyway,” she smiles
again.
Is she doing Raajneeti 2? “Prakash ji has narrated a
terrific story idea to me,” she says. “I would really love to be a part
of it.” For Katrina, a good script is one which is “never boring.”
She
also feels that a good film happens, and can never be planned. “It’s
about the story, how convinced and interested a director is about
telling the story, and the team that he puts together to narrate it,”
she says simply.
What is her take on other top actresses of
today? The diplomacy goes up a notch as she replies, “It’s great that
none of us are duplicates of the other and can all get equal chances to
do great roles.”
Ravichandran Ashwin celebrating with teammates, the wicket of New
Zealand cricket captain Ross Taylor during the fourth day of the first
test match between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi
International cricket stadium in Hyderabad. Photo: S.S. Virk
