Picture Courtesy: Official Instagram Account/Katrina Kaif, and YouTube
Katrina Kaif was born in Hong Kong as Katrina Turquotte, brought up in London, and succeeded in Mumbai. Her journey as an actor began in Hindi Cinema with Boom in 2003, and then she was seen in Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar in 2005, a political thriller that was inspired by the classic Hollywood film, The Godfather. Merely two weeks after the success of this drama, she was paired opposite Salman Khan for the first time in David Dhawan's comedy, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, which became her second hit in a row.
In these last 17 years, there have been some ups and some downs in her professional and personal space, but Katrina Kaif continues to be a movie star with irresistible persona. On her birthday, we look at the different aspects of her career and how she consolidated her position in the industry:
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1. The Blockbuster Films
During the initial stages of her career, when she was raw as an artist and learning the ropes, she was described as the lucky mascot by actors and filmmakers. And why not? In a span of just two years (2007-2009), she had eight massive money-spinners that only cemented her clout in Bollywood. It all started with Namastey London and continued with films like Apne, Partner, Welcome, Race, Singh Is Kinng, New York, and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.
Owning to such staggering success, she became one of the most bankable stars and one of the highest paid actors in the industry. In 2011, in films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, she showed her ability to carry a film or the narrative on her own shoulders. The former may have been a film about three male friends and their chaos and confusions and also their transformation, Kaif's Laila was integral to the plot and especially Arjun's life. In the latter, she was at the center of the narrative and a love triangle that happens between two brothers. With both these films, she added two more successes to her career.
That's not all, her repertoire also boasts off blockbusters like Raajneeti, Ek Tha Tiger, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Dhoom 3, and Tiger Zinda Hai.
2. The Breathtaking Songs
Back when she just began, her naïveté in her songs was also visible. Working hard on her craft, something began to change the way she moved to the chartbuster numbers. Suddenly, we could see the nimbleness that was amiss a while ago. The first glimpse of her newly acquired talent and tenacity to move and groove was seen in Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan, where she made the song Shiela Ki Jawani her own, also making it one of the biggest songs of 2010!
Then came impressive performances in songs like Kamli (Dhoom 3), Ishq Shava (Jan Tak Hai Jaan), Pashmina (Fitoor), Chikni Chameli (Agneepath), and more recently, Swag Se Swagat (Tiger Zinda Hai).
In Kamli, she danced to impress Aamir Khan, and when the song ended, the actor was trying hard to take her eyes off her, and so were her fans.
In Chikni Chameli, she was at the center of a dance number that defined what a masala song means, and the term 'item number' was looked at with disdain by a lot of actresses and rightly so. This wasn't an item, this was a dance number that had pulsating tunes and contagious beats. And in the case of Pashmina, she got the opportunity to dance to the tunes of the genius of Amit Trivedi. It wasn't a masala song, but a soothing track that stayed with us for long.
All eyes now lie on the recreated version of Tip Tip Barsa Paani from Sooryavanshi, given the cult the original is.
3. The Performances
As much as people enjoy watching Kaif on the celluloid for her aura, she has survived in the industry by surprising her critics with spurts of engaging performances. Not only Namastey London, which is still one of her best, we also saw the unseen side of Kaif in Aanand L. Rai's Zero, where she played a Bollywood star Babita Kumari. She was an emotionally broken soul and an alcoholic. The actress channelled the inner demons of her character as if they were her own. This was the first time a lot of people sat up to Kaif the actor and not the star.
A few months later, we saw her in Bharat, where she played Madam Sir, fondly called by her leading man Salman Khan. She essayed the role of Kumud, who falls in love with the eponymous character and how their love story takes an episodic form and continues for decades. Out of all the films she and Khan have worked on, Bharat displayed their reel-life passion in the most endearing way.
4. The Instagram Influence
Kaif made a solid debut on Instagram. She already has over 40 million followers. Instagram has blurred the lines between a star and a fan. The mystique and mystery that defined the stardom of a diva earlier seems to be fading away. An actor is a commoner today, sharing his or her daily chores with fans. Kaif is taking the same route! And especially during this lockdown, she keeps sharing her in-house shenanigans and chores and how she has been spending her time.
Who can forget that hilarious video where she could be seen cleaning her house and simultaneously playing cricket with her broomstick? Here it is:
Kaif is now all set to be India's first female Superhero in Ali Abbas Zafar's massively ambitious project. We have seen her moves and moving performances, now time to see how she saves the world!
Also Read: Ali Abbas Zafar's Superhero Flick With Katrina Kaif To Go On Floors Post Lockdown
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