For the first time in her 11-year career, Katrina Kaif has no film on the floors post her latest release Baar Baar Dekho. She is said to be doing a Karan Johar production that is a love story starring Fawad Khan, but she neither confirms nor denies this, merely stating that “nothing has been announced yet”!
Two flops (Phantom and Fitoor) after an extraordinary success ratio (higher than peak-time Amitabh Bachchan’s) that includes Dhoom:3 (her biggest hit) with Aamir Khan, Ek Tha Tiger and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya (Salman Khan), Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Shah Rukh Khan), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Hrithik Roshan), Welcome, Namastey London and Singh Is Kinng (Akshay Kumar), Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti (Ranbir Kapoor), New York (John Abraham), Apne (Bobby Deol), Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (Imran Khan, Ali Zafar), Partner (Govinda) and more, Katrina is upbeat about the reception to the promos, songs and everything else about Baar Baar Dekho, which released on September 9. And she calls Diya, her character in the film, as her most challenging role to date.
Is the film about time travel? Katrina narrows her eyes and after a pause tells you, “Baar Baar Dekho is an extremely emotional love story set in a new way. It is not as much about time travel as about two people between the ages of eight and 60. But it is not a linear story, and it talks about different stages in a relationship, like friendship as children, dating, marriage, after marriage where there are kids, and it also looks at the problems in these different stages.”
On relationships
Her own relationship has frayed of late with Ranbir Kapoor. How does she look at that aspect of her life now, some months down? “I think that every equation and relationship is different,” she says. “I think that it’s sensible to live for the moment, and this is the right place to be for me now.”
How does she green-light the films she does? Especially when she has such a huge proportion of hits. “I believe that if a story connects to me personally, then it will probably connect to the audience,” she replies simply. “Diya is someone that every girl and woman can connect with, and whom I deeply relate to. If a film does not work, I simply look back on it as a wrong choice. I have a simple belief: there are two kinds of film — those which are hits and those that have not connected with the audience. I think that the audience can never be wrong. I have been extremely fortunate that most of my films have worked, barring a handful. I am quite clear that when a film flops, there is something we did not get right.”
But there are exceptions. “In the case of Baar Baar Dekho, however, I feel privileged to be a part of a one-of-a-kind story, whether the audience likes it or not. But everyone has given us a terrific response during our promotions and online,” she says decisively.
The promos and music videos show her in a glamorous light. Can such a role really be challenging? “A serious role is not necessarily a challenging one, and vice-versa,” she points out sensibly. “Glamour and lightness — the physicality of the role — help in promotions by catching everyone’s eye. But that does not necessarily mean that there is no soul or emotion in such a role, because finally it is the emotions and the characters that connect, not the physical aspects.”
She adds, “And the challenge lies in how I as an actor perceive the role. It can fall under any genre — romantic, dramatic or something else. Then there are characters completely removed from you as a person, which are obviously challenging too, like if I got to play a serial killer,” she smiles.
Her songs ‘Kaala chashma’ and ‘Sau aasmaanon ko’ have hit it big on the charts. As the ‘Sheila ki jawani’ and ‘Chikni chameli’ girl, how important are songs in an actor’s career? “Every hit track helps an actor, and is a career boost,” she replies. “Successful films usually have a lot of music driving them. We are a musical industry, and four or five songs in every film is huge.”
After having worked with several senior superstars, Katrina has shared screen space with GenY actor Sidharth Malhotra. Speaking about the experience, she says, “Age-wise, apart from my senior heroes, all of us — Imran Khan, John Abraham, Aditya Roy Kapur — are all more or less in the same age group, and so is Sidharth,” she replies candidly. “Yes, he’s come into the industry nine years after me.”
If there was one thing she would like to change, just as it is believed the lead characters do in her film using time-travel, what would it be? “I would go back and tell myself not to worry and stress,” she says. All about stress
Well, well! But since she has a philosophical approach to life, why does she take stress? “Oh, I take a lot of stress about never doing enough,” she says frankly. “Like when things go wrong at a personal or professional level, the human instinct is to look for people and things to blame. But a more productive way is to see what you can do better. We have no control over other people, after all. But I guess you also have to learn to be easy on yourself. It is okay since you have done your best, but perhaps there is one thing you did not do right, so it’s alright.”
Baar Baar Dekho is the actor’s first film with Karan Johar and Dharma Productions. How did someone like her, who has worked for the biggest banners and filmmakers from Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, David Dhawan, Anil Sharma, Kabir Khan and more, miss out on that for 11 years? “I am a great believer in destiny,” she replies. “Even here, Dharma is only a co-producer, and the line producers are Excel Entertainment, which means Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, with whom I worked on Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. But for me, Dharma and Karan Johar are totally different.”
Explain please, I request. “I have shared a personal equation with Karan for so many years and that goes far beyond Dharma. Karan is a bright and sensitive person, who is also extremely smart. He connects deeply and personally with everyone, and is a special person,” she says.
Finally, what made her come on Facebook of late and not on Twitter? “I think I want people to know the right things about me, not anything that the media may write. Twitter is more instantaneous, while Facebook reflects on you as a person,” she sums up.