Posted:
Kaizad Gustad and Katrina Kaif's first film 'Boom' bombed at the box-office but the director says that even then, he knew that the hardworking actress would make it big in the industry.
Kaizad brought the 30-year-old British Indian actress into films and gave her a new surname" Kaif.
The director admits that when he first signed her, she could not speak a single word in Hindi.
"I knew that Katrina would be a top actress because she was extremely hardworking and had perseverance.
Although she was half British, she looked Indian and that's why I signed her for my film. She didn't know a single word in Hindi. I gave her the surname Kaif because KK is lucky for me," Kaizad says.
After the film, Katrina bagged other projects including Sarkar, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and Namastey London among others and gradually made her place at the top.
Amitabh Bachchan's performance in 'Boom' was panned by the critics but Kaizad says that the star had enjoyed playing a dark and crazy role.
"He was very happy and enjoyed the shoot. People didn't like his negative role because Amit ji's on screen image is bigger than his characters. He didn't make any changes in the script and shot it the way it was written," Kaizad says.
The director took a break post 'Boom'. After a gap of a decade, Kaizad is making a comeback to films with the Sachiin Joshi-Sunny Leone starrer thriller 'Jackpot'. The film's being shot in Goa & also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Makrand Deshpande and southern star Bharath in pivotal roles.
"I didn't want to make films. I was in a state of semi-retirement. I was upset in my life. During those times, I wrote plays and travelled a lot. I wrote 'Jackpot' for almost a year and thought I should start shooting it," he says.
He feels that the audience has become mature and even directors are experimenting with new genres.
"Society has changed. Cinema-viewing audience have changed. If I would have
released 'Boom' now, it would have got some other response. We are even experimenting with new genres of film," he states.
Indian Idol 16
10