PRETTY SUCCESSFUL
Salman Khan air- dashed from Hyderabad just for a day to welcome back his lady love after her 40-day long Australian outdoor, but Katrina Kaif opted for an appointment with Screen instead! In a no-holds-barred interview, she waxes eloquent on her soaring career graph and the Salman connection
Of the success of the Akshay-Katrina on-screen pairing she says, "Well, right from our first film Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, I have been very comfortable working with Akshay. He has always been confident about my capability as an actor and that's very assuring."
Following her box-office success it is surprising that she should be seen in Welcome, a film choc-a-bloc with stars wherein she will really have to nudge for elbow space. Wouldn't she rather stick to playing the main protagonist at this stage of her career? "That depends on the script. Mine is a central part in the film and I am not just there standing and smiling in it. In every scene I have pushed the envelope. I have learnt to improvise on my scenes from Salman and Akshay. If you asked them to come and take a seat in a comic scene, they will stumble and then land in the chair. They bring in their own experience to the scene," she argues defensively.
From the 18-year-old Brit kid wandering about in India who would have even "taken up the job of a safari guide in the jungle" instead of Kaizad Gustad's Boom to playing the mainstream heroine pretty seriously, Katrina has come a long way. Post-Boom, she trained sights on modelling and ended up being the highest-paid model. Having peaked there, she reconsidered a career in films, beginning Sarkar and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. "I have only spent four years here and learnt a whole lot - acting, dancing, speaking Hindi, dressing appropriately and learning the ways of the industry," she enumerates. Slowly and steadily and most determinedly, Katrina has made a mark even in Bollywood's rough terrain. Using her Anglicised accent and appearance to her advantage with Namastey London, Katrina has silenced the sceptics. "At least for the time being I have made a name and place for myself today. There are directors like David Dhawan, Vipul Shah and Anees Bazmee who consider me for their projects," she informs with pride. Doesn't her alliance with Salman help? "It doesn't work that way, the stakes are too high. Makers only offer me roles that suit me," she shoots back. Does she get offered anything other than "sweetie-pie" roles? She draws a deep breath and ripostes, "Hey, just watch out my role in Yash Raj Films' project. It is a 20-minute role, but it is something entirely different. I am breaking the mould with it," she says, without giving away too much about YRF's upcoming Ranbir-Deepika-Bipasha film. With her rising stocks, is she keen on heroine-oriented projects now? "Who doesn't want to do that? But the fact remains that the commercial cinema is still very much hero-dominated. By the next year perhaps I can aspire for something more than the quintessential heroine role which is more character-driven," she sighs. Of her contenders, she says Priyanka, Kareena and Deepika will be offered certain kind of roles. "There is space for everyone," she muses. After four years in Bollywood, how does she define her brand equity? "As someone who's offered vibrant, feisty, lively and funny roles. The parts that are completely opposed to my real reserved and serious self," analyses the Cancerian.With Yash Raj Films next, Subash Ghai's Yuvraaj, Vipul Amrutlal Shah's Sinngh Is Kinng and Tips' Race, Katrina Kaif is climbing the ladder "slowly but steadily". How far her hard work, determination and luck will hold good, only time will tell.
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