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Turning the other Kaif

Vipul Shah's Namastey London might just bring glad tidings for Katrina Kaif, striving to prove herself as an actor of substance

PHOTO: PTI

WHEN BEAUTY SPEAKS Katrina Kaif has great expectations from Namastey London

When Vipul Shah, the director of "Namastey London" that is opening tomorrow, was asked what Katrina Kaif was doing in his film apart from playing a baby doll, Shah said, "You will change your opinion after you see her as Jasmeet Singh alias Jazz in it. I didn't know she had so much pent-up emotions in her. She surprised me many times by not using glycerine in her emotionally-charged scenes."

And if you ask Katrina to respond to his remark, she attempts to play it down saying, "All of us are emotional, aren't we? Sometimes, we associate our feelings with those we play, which give us ample reasons to cry, particularly when we always wanted to do something but never had the time or occasion... "

In "Namastey London", she plays an Indian-girl, brought up in Britain who falls in love with a British guy.

She is brought back to India by her father, played by Rishi Kapoor, and married off to a Punjabi farmer Arjun, played by Akshay Kumar, someone who can barely speak English.

If Katrina calls this film her "best so far", she gives reasons too. "I play half myself and half another girl in the film. Jazz is a spoilt girl, which I am not.

My own life has been a major referral point for me.I remember once, a friend of mine in a London bar, after a mug of whiskey, behaved in an extremely awkward manner. I did a similar thing in one of my shots. But I must say that people in India at bars are far more reserved and well behaved."

For this film, Katrina has barely worn make up except some foundation and light lipstick because, "Young girls in London hardly wear make up but they wear the most fashionable clothes. In India, film heroines are done to death with loads of make-up even if they are playing a foreigner," she rues.

This is Katrina's second film with Akshay Kumar. "I shared a very good chemistry. Because he plays a Punjabi boy, I had to learn some Punjabi from him to communicate with him," she shares.

No satisfaction

Starting with Kaizad Gustad's "Boom", Katrina, however, hasn't played any role that has left an imprint on the audiences' mind. She reacts, "The problem is with films in which my roles are limited to a beautiful girl whom young boys chase. Not all the roles that I have done have been creatively satisfying. And the final editing takes out much from the film. I love to do comedies in which I really feel comfortable. But unfortunately in our comedy films, girls are supposed to be roaming around boys to trigger comic situations rather than doing any comedy per se. That way my role gets limited again. "Humko Deewana... " is a recent example. But fortunately, in "Salaam Namastey", I got a chance to perform."

For now, Katrina has "Hello", "Apne", "Campus" and "Partner" in her kitty. "I don't have a full-fledged role in "Hello" but a special appearance. "Apne" is a family drama in which I play a doctor. Partly, it is a comedy. In "Partner", I come from a rich family. And I play a college girl in "Campus"," she sums up. Salaam, namaste to the lady!

RANA SIDDIQUI

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