Katrina Kaif was that quintessential head turning outsider who did her best to dismantle cliches over a career spanning to over two decades. She is an outsider who made it big as an insider. She was alien to Hindi yet dreamt of making it big as a Hindi film heroine.
Starting out with a critical and commercial disaster called Boom (1999), today she is among the highest paid actors in the country. Over the years, Katrina has evolved as an actor who was initially increasingly aware of her limitations, honed up her strengths as an entertainer, dancer, and has made some smart movie choices. As Katrina Kaif celebrates her birthday today, here is a sneak peak into her evolution in the film industry.
When she started out in late ’90s, other than her gorgeous looks, there was little she had to offer in all honesty. In the late ’90s,she started out like many actresses do – as a model – in London. It was there that Kaizad Gustad spotted her and decided to cast her in Boom.
Unaware of the Indian audiences’ preferences and with a poor command over Hindi, Katrina was universally panned, when the film released. Unaffected, Katrina picked up a Telugu film, Malliswari and did a brief role in Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar. What was accepted beyond doubt were her good looks. Her handicaps were, however, pretty major to encourage producers to cast her in movies withher limited acting arsenal.
Then, around 2005-06, Katrina began working with Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, two associations that would remain pretty constant in her professional life and would help her up her innings as a bankable entertainer.
In 2005, she did Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya with Salman. Perhaps for the first time, audiences realised she did have a screen presence – charming and jovial in equal measures. While her Hindi was still questionable, dubbing took care of that. The next year, she did her first film with Akshay Kumar – Humko Deewana Kar Gaya. The film was a hit and audiences liked the new pair. From then on till Tees Maar Khan in 2010, the duo would star in a string of successful films including Namaste London, Welcome (both in 2007) and Singh is Kingg (2008). She was especially appreciated in Namaste London as an Indian girl, brought up with English ways, manners and customs.
This was the period when she was heavily criticised for her preference for male-dominated films and termed “pretty prop” and “unabashed eye candy”. She was, of course, ensuring that producers saw her as a bankable entertainer and she got visibility, the much-needed elixir for ‘outsiders’ in Bollywood with no backing. Around this time, she also began coaching herself in Hindi and, in years to come, would starting dubbing
in 2009, she did New York with Kabir Khan. Until then, she usually played second fiddle to the hero.
With New York, she genuinely began exploring hitherto unknown facets of her personality – as a desperate wife of a man, whose life goes for a total spin after he is wrongly detained after 9/11, Katrina was a revelation. Going from a carefree college student to a helpless wife, Katrina perhaps had a first major shot at acting.
Some films that Katrina was a part of became semi-hits as per box office collections. One of her first tastes of success was with Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya co-starring Salman Khan. In the film, she played Sonia and managed to charm everyone with her on screen presence. She was refreshing to watch and the film proved to be a success. Post that, Katrina was a part of Namastey London (2007), the film in which she dubbed her own dialogues. Her role as Jazz remains memorable for many as it was the first time she left an indelible imprint as a lead star. Not just this, Namastey London established her as a renowned name in Bollywood and there was no turning back for her. Her film Tees Maar Khan didn’t just mean another box office success for her, it also gave her one of the popular songs of her career, Sheila Ki Jawaani. Next up, Katrina played a naive yet strong character as Harleen Sahni in Bang Bang and impressed everyone with her performance opposite Hrithik Roshan. Finally, Bharat with Salman Khan also minted good moolah at the ticket window and gave Katrina her most critically lauded performance as Kumud Raina. Besides, seeing Katrina don ethnic attire on screen with a curly haired look, left everyone awestruck. Also, her moving performance was lauded.
The gorgeous star was surely leaving no stone unturned in working on herself post the success of Namastey London. Post that, she was a part of Salman Khan and Govinda starrer Partner. What left the audience surprised and amazed was her performance as Priya in the film. She was cast opposite Govinda and that too added to the success as the audiences expected her to be paired with Khan. However, her cute pairing with Govinda left everyone impressed. The film turned out to be her first superhit and it was a good phase for her career. Once again, Katrina starred in the lead role as Sanjana in Welcome and her endearing act opposite Akshay left everyone in awe.
Despite being a multistarrer, Katrina left an impact with her role in Welcome. However, a film that changed the game for her was Singh is Kinng with Akshay again. As Sonia, she managed to leave everyone impressed with her candor and funny avatar. Her cute chemistry with Akshay also won hearts and some of the most memorable songs of her career are from Singh is Kinng. Another film that showed fans her versatility was rom-com Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. For the first time, fans saw her romancing Ranbir Kapoor in a light and fun role and it surely won hearts. Finally, came Raajneeti that showcased her in a never-seen-before avatar as a political leader on screen and her act impressed audiences as well as critics. Her performance as Indu Pratap won her the award for Best Actress (Popular Choice) at Star Screen Awards that year.
Her act in New York got her nomination in the Best Actress category at the Filmfare Awards and bagged her the trophy of Best Actor Female at the Stardust Awards. Kaif also turned to play a character with a grey shade in Race with Saif Ali Khan and her act as Sonia impressed fans. Her song Zara Zara Touch Me became a chartbuster and her dance moves were loved. Breaking away from the usual roles, Katrina played a playful and rebellious character in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and won hearts. The one thing that surely stands out in Katrina’s career is the fact that she also got a chance to perform in front of Yash Chopra in his last film Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Katrina’s act in the film impressed audiences and many critics showered heaps of praise on her. Her song, Heer from Jab Tak Hai Jaan still leaves fans overwhelmed. For it, she won Best Actress Screen Award that year too.
Finally, we come to the blockbusters of Katrina Kaif’s career. The gorgeous star gave it her all to turn herself into the gorgeous yet powerful character Zoya in Ek Tha Tiger opposite Salman. While the film was centered around Zoya and Tiger chasing after the bad guys, we got to see some amazing action stunts being done by Katrina and it showed fans the hard work the gorgeous star had put in for the role. Her chemistry with Salman managed to set the screens on fire and she bagged the Best Actress Award for the same at Screen Awards that year. When the sequel to Tiger Zinda Hai came, we saw how Ali Abbas Zafar wrote an even stronger role for Zoya aka Katrina. Once again, the beautiful actress turned into a ninja assassin for Tiger Zinda Hai and we saw her terrific performance opposite Salman in the film. Both Tiger franchise movies earned Katrina massive success at the box office along with critical acclaim.
Another performance for which the diva worked with full commitment was opposite Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3. For her role, Katrina learned aerial dance forms as well and managed to leave everyone in awe of her performance. Her songs Malang and Kamli from Dhoom 3 became huge hits and we saw her nail lifts and aerial act like a pro in the same. She was even nominated for Best Actress at Screen Awards for her role in Dhoom 3.
Here’s to many more years of Kat’s gorgeousness.
PNN/Agencies