Did Salman and Katrina's personal equation have any affect on the movie, positive or negative?
Oh yes! Absolutely! The fact that they know each other so well, almost for 8 years, helped me. I didn't have to go through the process of breaking the ice between my two actors. For example when I filmed New York, I had to break the ice between John (Abraham) and Katrina. They had never met before and there was a hesitance in talking to each other which sometimes reflects in the scene. So if you are portraying two people who are lovers and they known each other for years, they are familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses.
But since they are ex-lovers, was there any awkwardness?
If there is awkwardness in their real life relationship it can hamper the film.But Katrina and Salman have no awkwardness. They are very friendly. She is very close to Salman's entire family. So there was no negative aspect of it.
This is their first full-fledged movie together after the break up. Were you instrumental in bringing them together onscreen?
I don't know. I didn't approach Katrina saying that 'will you work with Salman?'I just told her that Salman would be great for the role. She totally agreed.When I approached Salman, he asked me who is playing Zoya, I told him it is Katrina. He said 'okay! It is brilliant!'
Infact much before I directed Kabul Express, I had met Salman to narrate the script to him and get his opinion. It so happened that when I approached Katrina for New York, she was not sure whether she should do such a dark film with a new director, it was Salman who convinced her to work with me. For him to remember me after two years gave me a very nice feeling.
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/salman-khan/pinkvilla-exclusive-there-was-no-awkwardness-between-salman-katrina-be
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