Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya

More than the fate of the film at the Box Office, ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’ is remembered for the on-screen chemistry shared by Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan. The reel couple went to materialize their relationship in real and gossip magazines were replete with Salman-Kat’s budding romance. Time and again Katrina has dished all rumours of her linkages with Salman, but insiders believe that she does hold a soft corner for the actor.

Namastey London

She had already mesmerized people with her beauty, but her acting came to the fore only after the release of ‘Namaste London’. Some say that the successful phase in Kaif`s career started in the year 2007 with this Vipul Shah film, which went on to become a commercial and critical success. Katrina was cast opposite Akshay Kumar and their pairing was a big hit which even till date is viewed as industry’s most ‘killer’ jodi.

Welcome

Mad cap ‘Welcome’ again saw Katrina romance Akshay on-screen. The film was a mega success even though critics had slammed it. The film went on to establish Katrina Kaif in the league of top Bollywood actresses. Filmmaker started to take notice of this British born actress and offers started to pour in from renowned banners in town.

Race

Following ‘Welcome’ which was declared a blockbuster, Abbas Mustan approached Katrina to play a negative role in ‘Race’. Again Kat lived up to the expectation with her special number ‘Zara Zara Touch Me…’ gaining wide scale popularity. Even as the entire nation was grooving to the beats of ‘Touch Me’, Katrina Kaif had had become the muse of every single bachelor in India.

Singh Is Kinng

Her striking beauty left the audience spell bound and in her following hit ‘Singh is Kinng’ Katrina Kaif made her fans go absolutely crazy with numbers ‘Jee Karda’ and ‘Teri Ore’. The film which again saw her paired with Akshay Kumar was declared a blockbuster, making it Kaif`s sixth consecutive success at the Box Office. The movie also emerged as the third highest grossing film that year (2008).

New York

‘New York’ underlined a stark difference in the kind of roles Katrina had been doing till then. In Kabir Khan’s ‘New York’ Kat revealed a whole new side to her with some exemplary acting and of course, that drop dead gorgeous looks proved soothing to the eyes. With this film she shut all her critics up, who claimed until then that she was merely there as an ornamental factor in films. Her acting in ‘New York’ was lauded and she was being considered for character driver roles in her future flicks.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

The film marked her bonding with the emerging star of Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor. Directed by master craftsman Raj Kumar Santoshi, ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ was a tribute to the genre of quintessential Bollywood humour with Kat and RK in lead. A roller-coster caper, the film saw Katrina play the character of a Christian girl with brilliance.

Raajneeti

Given her thus far wonderful track record, thinking director Prakash Jha roped Katrina to play a crucial role in his political drama based on the ‘Mahabharata’ called ‘Raajneeti’. Essaying a totally different role from her earlier films, Kat worked hard to get in to the character etched out for her by Jha. And consequently, she lived up to the expectation of the director who was concerned if his heroine would be able to speak chaste Hindi despite her being a foreigner in real. But, much to everyone’s delight and surprise, Kat pulled the role with élan.

Tees Maar Khan

Cast yet again with her favourite co-star Akshay Kumar, Katrina won rave reviews for this Farah Khan directed ‘Tees Maar Khan’. The credit for the biggest highpoint in TMK went undisputedly to Katrina Kaif. ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ achieved a status of an anthem in India. Her dance to the song was being replicated at all dance shows and organizers were ready to shell millions as Kat was flooded with offers to perform at live events.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Another smart and sensible outing by Katrina Kaif was ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. Even in a small role, Kat left an impressive mark. Brilliantly directed by Zoya Akhtar, Katrina’s portrayal of fun-loving diving instructor Laila, was a revelation. Romancing hot hunk Hrithik Roshan, Katrina appeared confident and looked a lot controlled in all the scenes.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

With her portrayal of vivacious punk-rock girl Dimple Dixit, ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ despite having big actors like Imran Khan and Ali Zafar ultimately belonged to Katrina Kaif. The actress was in her element all throughout the film. ‘Dhunki’ song in which she featured was a massive chartbuster.

Agneepath

By this time, Kat had become the most sought after actress in Bollywood and every filmmaker wanted to have a part of her in their film, even if that meant in the form of an item number. So, when Karan Johar’s ambitious project ‘Agneepath’ was being remade, Katrina Kaif was asked to do a special number in the film. And when ‘Chikni Chameli’ got out, everyone went gaga over the reigning queen of Bollywood - Katrina Kaif!

By Bikas Bhagat