KATRINA shining

By Geety Sahgal

Katrina Kaif gets into a brand new zone with some daringly different roles

She was one of the Bollywood actresses I had always wanted to interview. And there she was, in a simple tee and skirt with a stole carelessly thrown over her shoulders, the smoothest of complexions and jet-black hair tied in a ponytail. It was no big wonder that the actress has retained the top slot for the second consecutive year as Asia's 50 Sexiest Women. She looks like a dream.

Work-wise too, she is reigning supreme, with seven hits to her credit and a massive fan following. She is also on every filmmaker's wish-list… right from funny man David Dhawan to a more serious Anurag Basu. But still, Raajneeti, her next release which is two weeks away, is giving her some jitters. "I have been part of several successful films, and the audience has some expectations from me. It is important for me to retain the trust. I don't mind if my name is not even mentioned in the review, but the film should do well," says the actress who impressed in Namastey London, Singh Is Kinng, New York and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, to name a few.

There is no doubt that Raajneeti was an exceptional challenge for the actress. The film is a hard-hitting drama set against a political backdrop in the Hindi- speaking belt of Bihar.

In real life Katrina hates politics, can barely converse in Hindi and having firmly established firmly herself as a glamour-girl both off- and on-screen had to don some very ordinary clothes like kurtis and cotton saress in the film. So what attracted her to Raajneeti, in which she is also pitted against heavyweights like Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn and Manoj Bajpai? "Every actor has a hunger to do something different. From the day Prakash Jha offered me the film I wanted to be a part of it. His deep insight into politics was amazing. As for the role being tough, the funny thing is that I find every role tough. Whether it is comedy, drama or romance, I work equally hard on every role," says Katrina, who plays the daughter of a powerful man who finances political campaigns in the film.

But she quickly waves off speculation that her part is based on Sonia Gandhi. "The characters in Raajneeti are inspired from the Mahabharat and my character would be loosely based on Draupadi. But for some campaigning portions I did observe Priyanka Gandhi and the way she delivers her speeches and interacts with the public. But the film, as Prakash Jha has pointed out, is not about speeches and politics. It is about love, rejection and jealousy in a political set- up. It is about greed for power and how one can misuse it."

Now there is another role to which she is looking forward - Zoya Akhtar's road movie, for which she leaves for Spain in June. The film requires her to learn dirt-bike riding and deep-sea diving and Katrina has already started training and meeting up with instructors who will train her. "The film has a fun, energetic space and I know I am going to enjoy myself shooting for it. I am very excited about doing the stunts as it's something I have not done before," she says in her trademark drawl.

Once back, she will slip into her dancing shoes to gear up for Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan, in which she plays an “item” girl. Once again she is paired opposite her favourite co-star Akshay Kumar . "Tees Maar Khan is a fun film. Farah has conceived some new compositions, with some new and interesting steps for my dance sequences in the film," says the actress, who will shoot for Tarun Mansukhani's Dostana 2 after that.

But what Katrina is craving to do now is a love story, an intense romantic film in which she will be swept off her feet by the hero. "I really wish someone offers me a romantic film. I am a romantic at heart and thoroughly enjoyed watching films like Jab We Met and Jaane Tu…Na Jaane Na."

However, a slight frown mars the perfect beauty of one of India's top five actresses when asked if she walked out of Anurag Basu's Silence because it starred Priyanka Chopra, with whom she is reportedly not on the best of terms. "See, I need not do every film that comes my way. I have met Anurag Basu a couple of times and we had discussed the film. It is a complex film, and maybe I was not comfortable in that space. Did I ever say I was doing it? Before I could decide the media was already saying things like I am not doing the film because Priyanka is in it, that I am at war with her! Not only that, one day they say that I am seeing someone, the next day it is someone else and then it is a love triangle. An actor has to be intelligent to do or promote a film but we are portrayed as childish, immature, disloyal, flippant and indecisive people," she says in an annoyed tone, saying that even if she were to take this with a pinch of salt what bothers her is that the readers take it as the gospel truth.

As for turning producer, she says that she is still trying to get the rights of the French film, A La Folie…Pas Du Toit , and once that happens she will decide whether she wants to produce it or give it to another production house. “The process is too complicated,” she sighs. And if that film doesn't happen, then she has also sets her sights on the 1980 comedy Private Benjamin about a spunky girl who joins the army!