I worked with Ranbir when it was just his second film: Katrina Kaif

Since 2003, when she entered the Hindi film industry, Katrina Kaif’s career has been on an upward trajectory. Of late, she has been busy promoting her latest release, Fitoor. We caught up with her at Mehboob Studios, just before she was heading in for a screening of of the film.

Having worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry, Fitoor sees her opposite the relatively new actor Aditya Roy Kapur.

“But I have also worked with a lot of upcoming actors when I started out, like Neil Nitin Mukesh in New York and Imran Khan. I had a great variety of co-stars,” says Katrina. “Even with Ranbir, it was only his second film when we worked together.

People forget that because he is such a wonderful actor... Aditya has the required passion and joy for acting… (As long as my co-star has that) I am happy, and if they happen to be as nice and charming as Aditya is, then that’s the icing on the cake!”

Over the past few weeks, there’s been a tremendous amount of attention on Katrina’s personal life, with realms of print and electronic footage being dedicated to the question of whether or not her relationship with beau Ranbir Kapoor is over.

Katrina admits that to be unaffected by the constant speculation would be impossible. “Do I want to read it? No. Does it affect me? You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you,” she says.

Fortunately, her family has become fairly inured over the years to the media circus surrounding Katrina. “It’s been nine-10 years now, they understand it,” she says, about how her mother and sisters react to the stories.

“They are all reasonably intelligent and smart girls and they have seen this for so many years now. This is what happens, we know not to believe it.”

And Katrina insists that she has never let the media attention prevent her from living her life on her own terms.

“If you have to be conscious about going someplace, then to me, it seems like you shouldn’t be going there. If you live your life correctly, you wouldn’t have to be conscious. Of course, there are difficult times where you want to restrict or limit the comments and speculation… but in the end, you have to believe in your own truth. You cannot control the media; it’s not in your hands what is being written about you, so it’s best to let it go. You have to surround yourself with people who are strong enough to know the truth and not be affected by it. This is part and parcel of the industry,” she says.

This is an industry she’s spent over a decade in now, and Katrina says she has tried to balance her work with other aspects of her life:

“In nine-10 years, obviously you will go through phases when you are single-mindedly focussing on a project. You cannot see beyond that. But there may be months when you focus on other things, when these become your priority, and that’s the case in anybody’s life. The important thing is to be genuine and true to what you feel at that time.” So does she handle the stress that’s part of the job description a whole lot better now?

“I don’t know,” Katrina says. “But I try to learn. I think that when you are in a difficult situation and you notice that you are behaving or responding in a way that is similar to the past — it’s a warning sign. You should evolve as a person. If we work hard on our language and movies, why should we not work hard on ourselves as well?”