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The other Kaif

Vipul Shah's "Namastey London" might bring glad tidings for Katrina Kaif, notes RANA SIDDIQUI

PHOTO: PTI

WHEN BEAUTY SPEAKS Katrina Kaif wants to be known as a versatile artiste

When Vipul Shah, the director of Namastey London that is releasing this Friday, was asked, what was Katrina Kaif doing in his film except playing a baby doll, he 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. She surprised me many times by not using glycerine in emotionally-charged scenes."

Ask Katrina to respond, and she attempts to hide it saying, "All of us are emotional, aren't we? Sometimes, we associate our feelings with those we play which gives us ample reasons to cry, particularly when we always wanted to do something but never had the time or occasion... "

In Namastey London, this gorgeous lady with a child-like smile plays an Indian-born girl brought up in Britain and 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, who shares the second part of her name with cricketer Mohammed Kaif, 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. So, to play that spoilt girl, who behaves in a peculiar way in a London bar, is what I drew from my experiences of Britain. My own life has been a major referral point for me. I know how a girl who is standing at a nightclub entrance behaves when a spoilt brat hits her at the back just to have fun. It was, and it still is unacceptable to me. But I behaved the way London girls behave at that time. 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. It is because, "Young girls in London hardly wear make up but they wear most fashionable of the dresses. So, I also didn't even use false eyelashes or loud make-up. In India, film heroines are done to death with loads of make-up even if they are playing a foreigner," she rues.

With Akshay Kumar, this is Katrina's second film, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye being the first. Though Akshay helping her with dubbing, etc. for the film has been doing the rounds, Katrina says, "For the first time I have done my own dubbing. It was very exciting. With Akshay, this being my second film, I shared a very good chemistry. Becausehe 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 is often just a pretty face. 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 Namastey London , 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!

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