I'm not excited about speaking Hindi'

It's a departure in every which way for this Bollywood actress on the ascendant. She is playing a deglamorised politician and the Hindi has to be perfect too, but Britain born Katrina Kaif says her role in 'Rajneeti' excites her more because she is now comfortable with the language.

Katrina, who has delivered a string of hits playing the urban hip young woman, gets a makeover in Prakash Jha's 'Rajneeti'. Dressed in cotton saris and speaking chaste Hindi, this is a challenging role that she's looking forward to. But the Hindi is passe now for the actress, whose accented Hindi meant that her many early films had to be dubbed.

"I am excited about the part (in 'Rajneeti'), but I am not very excited about speaking Hindi because I spoke Hindi in my last 10 films. It's a great role and a great film and I certainly hope people enjoy it," Katrina told IANS.

'Rajneeti' is Katrina's first political thriller and she says she wants to keep her options open by not restricting herself to any particular genre.

"If it's a good film and I enjoy it and I think the audience will enjoy it then I will do it," said the actress, who has given the most hits in last two years, including romantic comedies 'Namastey London', 'Partner' and 'Welcome'.

In 'Rajneeti', she will be seen rubbing shoulders with veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah along with talented actors Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal and Bollywood's new sensation Ranbir Kapoor. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prakash Jha, it is releasing June 4.

Katrina reportedly had a tough time dubbing for her last outing, 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani', because director Raj Kumar Santoshi was very particular about her Hindi.

The 25-year-old, who was initially dubbed by professional artists and still faces flak for her pronounced British accent despite a successful Bollywood career, isn't worried about her Hindi accent. In fact, she is thrilled with the way her career has shaped up.

"It's been a wonderful ride so far and I've had wonderful support from a lot of people. The audience has been very supportive and I hope that I keep getting the opportunity and the good work and as long as that's there, I am happy," she said.

Apart for her Hindi in 'Rajneeti', the actress has also been in the news for watching actress Madhuri Dixit's videos to prepare for a dance number in Farah Khan's directorial venture 'Tees Maar Khan'.

"No, I haven't gone through them (the videos) yet... We have a very high energy, fun Indian song which is kind of an item song and it has some kind of resemblance to the kind of songs that Madhuri was famous for but that's kind of where it stops," said Katrina who has once again teamed up with Akshay Kumar in the film.

"Farah is unique as a director and what she gives in her sense of glamour and presentation is something which I am very excited to be part of and I hope that we make a great film," she added.

Expected to release Dec 24, 'Tees Maar Khan' also stars Akshaye Khanna.

Asked about her reported projects like the Hindi version of 'The Italian Job' and 'Dostana 2', she said: "At the moment, I am working on 'Rajneeti' and Farah Khan's 'Tees Maar Khan'... Anything else is yet to be announced."

Indo-Asian News Service