The end of her relationship with Salman Khan or the beginning of her new glorious phase in the industry, her friendship with Ranbir or her public outburst, Katrina Kaif tells just how she rose above it all…
Plenty, many hits! Growing star power! Katrina has reached an enviable place in the industry. The beauty of it all is the fact that few were convinced she’d ever really get there…. And yet she is sitting poised amongst the biggest names.
Clearly the girl has made many right choices but over these years of growth there certainly might have been many moments that have stirred the person she is, to her very chore, changing her gradually. Many, who thought of her existence in the industry as a mere exhibition of her man, Salman Khan’s goodwill, haven’t really given her, her due. It is a fact that she has had to face many brickbats post the affable actor declaring their relationship is all but over. Initially, she smiled saying, “if he says he is single, and if I say I am single then it sure must be true!” But things didn’t seem all pretty peaches.
That was until I saw her, walking graciously on the ramp for Being Human she looked a million bucks and sure did know that there were more than a million eyes on her gauging the remainder chemistry between her and her ex. Amidst all these glaring eyes and personal darts, how did she rise?
“Where the show is concerned; I have this one regret…” she had my ears with that, “I didn’t have much time to prepare. It so happened that the dates were changed at the last minute due to some issues, and I was shooting away from town, I had to rush in, change and finish the makeup etc… and rush through the show. Other than that I think you know, it went off well it was a difficult show to pull off… For me it is very important that you must at all costs maintain your friendships especially with those you are important to you in life and give them that respect when and where you can be there for them, I think I have ….” And I guess it worked perfectly, all the crazed media’s aggression disappeared seeing the ex- couples bond on the ramp.
You have to give it to the girl, she sure knows how to address the media and shut them up when required, maybe that is the reason why her uncharacteristic outburst at a press event shocked me so… getting my drift she said, “Have you seen the footage of that press event? If anyone ever manages to see the entire footage, I would ask them how would they react if it was their family member, their mother or sister up there on the stage? I was up on the stage, all alone for a product, not for a personal press conference when the media went completely out of hand. The mike’s were flying all over the place, the people were getting so aggressive, some of them were screaming pack-up… they were trying to do everything to pressure me into giving a quote. The worst part was that these are the same media people I have been interacting with, for years! I have always been dignified and kind in my approach towards the media. I know they are very important, not just to promote films but otherwise too. And despite all the respect and regard I have for them, in my vision of that day’s events… I’d say it was a plain violent aggression. I can go to the extent of saying that it was one of the low days I have had this year. Basically I feel, every actress when you see them, you tend to see them as some kind of soul, identity, image which is not a human image. Or normal image.. you tend to think of them as something abnormal. But we are all humans and very normal. Probably more sensitive than normal people because you are constantly being judged!”
The junta isn’t alone judging her, her own colleagues aren’t exactly sparing her any grand adjectives. Having undoubtedly the maximum number of box offices successes as compared to anyone she could call competition, the girl still seems to be falling short of gaining respect of her contemporaries as far as her acting ability is concerned.
She flashed me a smile that seemed so perfect, I almost thought it was practiced, “It’s an individual opinion and it doesn’t matter to me much to be honest, it is your own identity and it is not that anyone’s opinion has to be taken personally or something. It really doesn’t matter to me and it is irrelevant completely and I am doing the best that I can and I believe in myself and believing in being my person and working towards my potential as an actress. I have been 100% honest to the films that are given to me. All else is useless, and entirely irrelevant, it doesn’t matter.” The smile showed again.
It is uncommon for an actor to disregard other people’s opinions considering public image is so dear to them. Maybe unwittingly, what Ranbir and Imran said about her on national television, could form an impressionable mind’s opinion on her. “For me it is important that a film does well at the box office, and I strive, my level best, to get there. Am I growing as an actor? Well, I am taking my steps towards getting better.” A lot was spoken about her role in RAAJNEETI, did she somewhere feel that it would change things for her? It is said that once a glamorous actresses dons a cotton sari, she is perhaps hooting for a national award.
“The fact that I got a chance to work in the film and with the kind of people in it, the experience and the fact that the film got accepted in a big way by the audience is such a huge sense of happiness, you don’t then start to look too much than this I think, there has to be some limit of desire of wanting. Was I expecting a national award? No! Not at all! I would never see a light in something I didn’t get, if I didn’t get it then there will be a reason I didn’t get it. I cannot think like that. Neither can I lie to you by saying something else, I would like to win and get awards and after all everyone wants to be awarded for their profession no matter what you are, but it is not foremost in my mind, I also have to be honest to my ambition and in what I want to achieve. A lot of times I would go for a film thinking it is a fun film! I believe if your intentions are honest, the best will come to you!”
Those will be times she signs up something like TEES MAAR KHAN? I might have anticipated some defense there, but she casually told me, “That was because I wanted to work with Farrah Khan. I wanted to be projected in a film by her.”
I somehow didn’t want details on why she signed MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, cause it sure seems like a project any today’s actress would say yes to, given the Sonams and the Deepikas of the world having already done their share. What I really wanted to know is why isn’t she taking her time to enjoy that ‘single’ status? Doesn’t she have her bunch of girls to take to the beach and enjoy the male attention? Hoping all these years she has spent in the industry have given her some friends she is can call her own…
“My friends aren’t from popular faces from the industry, so I don’t think giving names would help,” she shut the lid tight on that, and continued, “I share a nice rapport with all the people I work with. There are different kinds of friendship, there are those who we don’t really speak to everyday and then there are others who you call and check on, obviously the latter are closer…. But have their own place in life, only the nature and equation might be different.” I was obviously more curious about those she calls every day, those she shares her moments with… good as well as sad. And also, which category does Ranbir Kapoor fall in, given both speak of the other as a good friend.
“We worked together on two films and we have very similar views on a lot of things, like films, filmmaking… reason of doing films and generally the way we look at things. He is the kind of person, you befriend easily. We have become good friends after these two films. But we don’t see each other anymore because unfortunately we don’t have a film together right now. That’s the sad thing you make good friends and then you don’t get to see them anymore. Getting to think of it, RAAJNEETI, had a fun bunch of people. Arjun being the big surprise. I always saw him as a very straight, very quiet kind of a guy and he turned out to be the biggest prankster… We had a group called the Bho-Pals, since we shot the film in Bhopal.” Indeed very creative… a bunch of fun people. But of these friends we spoke off, who are ones she called to vent out the pain of say her breakup?
Her answer was a long silence…finally she said, “Honestly, not just about being single again, but generally too, inside have I ever pricked or felt hurt about negativity , we all do! We are all human. Have I spoken to someone, do I give it too much importance, NO. I deal with it inside I accept it and I go through my emotions. It feels sad but then I go on and work hard with an honest intention which is the right thing everyone does, that’s the way I face these things.” Resilient or collected, whichever way she chooses to go, more power to this pretty gurl!
