Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif didn't quite start with a boom, even though that was the name of her first film. It, however, didn't take Katrina Kaif too long to prove that she could command her own following to the box-office. Five years after a disastrous debut, today she is one of the strongest contenders to the slot of 'Numero Uno' when it comes to commercial success. And yes, producers do line up to sign her for their next movie. But that has not really changed her much, at least that's what she says. We have a look at how brand Katrina was made.

The first steps
An 18-year-old Katrina broke into the Hindi film industry with Kaizad Gustad's 'Boom'. The film flopped but Katrina says she has no issues with that. According to her, she had just tried something in the 'josh' of a teenager. And she maintains that it was a learning experience no matter what. For a British national, who has a Kashmiri father and a British mother, it was more of modelling for her till then. And she had fared very well in that.

Katrina had started modelling at the age of 14 when she was approached for a jewellery campaign while she was staying in Hawaii – that's where she grew up. From there she moved to London and a ride to fame began. That's when she is said to have been noticed by Kaizad Gustad and she reached Bollywood. But long before her first movie was released she had already attained fame for her sensual appeal over all the ad-campaigns she signed up.

Lying low
Katrina didn't lose heart with the first failure. She instead moved down south for a movie. And soon she landed herself with a small role in Ram Gopal Varma's superhit 'Sarkar'. From then on there has been no looking back. Following these she came up with hits after hits, both in Bollywood as well as down south and suddenly started threatening to enter into the top position.

The romance and the Khan
Somewhere in between, the actress started featuring in a whole of reports that linked her up with freshly heart broken Salman Khan. Katrina did go on record denying that there is anything between them. But like the classical Hindi film dialogue, their relationship couldn't really stay in oblivion for too long. Salman gave it away, although the damsel continued to name it a friendship. Their chemistry was seen in 'Maine Pyaar Kyu Kiya' and there were hardly any speculations left.

But a romance with the vulnerable Khan can not always stay away from controversies. After speculations of whether they are in a relationship or not started rumours that they would soon be breaking up owning to constant fights between the two. And the tussle was said to be Salman's possessiveness for Katrina. The actress was increasingly signing up roles with Akshay Kumar and their closeness, many say, angered Salman.

The invasion to the top
And while signing film with Akshay was reportedly the cause for personal problems, it also proved to become the best career move. The audience loved the on screen couple so much that almost every movie together they did have been a huge success. The ride started with 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' in 2005 and caught speed in 2007 with two huge successes 'Namastey London' and 'Welcome'. In all 2007 saw Katrina beating all other heroines with two more extremely successful films 'Partner' and 'Apne' giving her a 10 on 10 scorecard.

The consolidation
2008 has not been too good a year commercially for the industry. While stars like Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan have failed to maintain a clean record, Katrina is yet to face a setback with two of the year's biggest hits to back her status. And the year is yet to be over. Subhash Ghai's 'Yuvraj', which releases this November, could as well give her two years of no flops – something that no other heroine has achieved in a long while. And to add to this she has also successfully done away with the dubbing artist who used to dub for her earlier because of her incapability to grasp Hindi pronunciations. Katrina admits that she has very much been dubbing herself for films now.

A long way to go
From a cheat to an adorable girl to an angel faced villain, Katrina has been essaying quite a few roles her own way. And to think of it, Katrina just completed 24 years on planet earth and five years in Bollywood. In an industry where stalwarts like Aishwarya Rai are much older and yet lay claim to the top slot, Katrina definitely has a lot of years for herself to assert her position as one of the most successful heroines in the industry provided she makes the right choices and keeps acting. And yes, of course, put more some emphasis on her acting capabilities.

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