Katrina Kaif (born on 16 July 1984) is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. Being a British citizen, she works in India on an employment visa.
Kaif made her acting debut in 2003 with Kaizad Gustad's Boom. In 2007, she earned commercial success with Vipul Shah's Namastey London and later earned public recognition for playing glamorous roles in such male-centric films as Partner (2007), Race (2007) and Singh Is Kinng (2008). Kaif subsequently played more prominent roles in such films as New York (2009), Rajneeti (2010), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), and Ek Tha Tiger (2012, the second highest-grossing Bollywood film). Despite earning mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, she has established herself a commercially successful actresses of Hindi cinema. Kaif is also known for her hardwork and deadly dance moves.
Personal life
Kaif was born in Hong Kong, to an Kashmiri Indian father, Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Susanna Turquotte, who is a British citizen. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Kaif once stated, "My dad, unfortunately, and not out of choice, has had no influence on our upbringing, on our religious or social or moral bearings."
When she came to India, she changed her surname to that of her father's, Kaif, because it was Indian in origin. Furthermore, Ayesha Shroff has maintained that the actress' original name is Katrina Turquotte. She also claims that they gave her the Indian father and also the surname Kaif after cricketer Mohammad Kaif as he was on top at that time. She adds that they also had thought her naming Katrina Kazi. From Hong Kong, she and her family moved to China, then to Japan. From there she went to France when she was 8, and thereafter lived for a few months at a time in Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries. Then she moved with her family to Hawaii, and eventually to her mother's home country of England. Although it is often assumed that Kaif is from London, she lived there only for three years before finally moving to Mumbai. Kaif's personal life, including her romantic relationships, has been a great subject to the media. After years of speculations Katrina Kaif admitted in an 2011 interview for a magazine that she was in a serious relationship with actor Salman Khan for several years, which ended in 2010.[24] She has been to various religious places in India, including Hindu, Sikh and Islamic places of worship;[26] Siddhivinayak temple, Hindu temples in Haridwar, Shirdi, Amritsar's Golden temple and Ajmer Sharif dargah.
Education
Katrina studied in various countries. Her mother worked in NGOs and so moved to many countries like Hong Kong, Hawaii, France, Germany, China and Japan. Most people had no knowledge that Katrina pursued her engineering studies in London at age 17, but she was not interested in that field. Instead, she wanted to be in the fields of modeling and the glamour industry. In an interview in the Times of India, Katrina stated that she came to India to search for her career at the age of seventeen.
Career
Modeling and film (1998–2004)
Kaif began her modeling career at age fourteen; her first assignment was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London under a contract with the Models 1 Agency and did campaigns for houses such as La Senza and Arcadius, and even walked on the London Fashion Week.
Kaif's modeling work led to her discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). The film, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Gulshan Grover, failed to make an impact. She then moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments, but filmmakers were hesitant to cast Kaif due to her poor command in Hindi.
Breakthrough (2005–2006)
In 2005, Kaif made a cameo in Ram Gopal Verma's drama Sarkar, as Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend. The same year, she landed her first major role in David Dhawan's adaptation of Cactus Flower, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, where she was paired opposite Salman Khan. The film also featured Sushmita Sen, Arshad Warsi, Isha Koppikar and Sohail Khan in leading roles. Upon release, the film became a moderate success with Taran Adarsh, a prominent film critic, mentioning Kaif as a "complete revelation". The following year, she was paired opposite Akshay Kumar for the first time (she subsequently appeared alongside Kumar in a number of successful films throughout her career) in Raj Kanwar's box-office flop Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. However, for her portrayal of Jia A. Yashvardhan, Adarsh wrote, "Taking giant strides as an actor, Katrina is, without doubt, the star of the show. It's her magnetic presence and dependable performance that you carry home once the show has ended." The film has often been hailed as the major turnaround for the better in her career due to her performance.
Initial success (2007–2009)
Katrina Kaif at Book launch of Raajneeti - The Film & Beyond, 2012
In 2007, Kaif appeared in four films, all of which were successful at the box office. Her first release was Vipul Shah's romantic-comedy Namastey London. Kaif portrayed the character of a British Indian girl named Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra, alongside Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Clive Standen. Upon its release, the film became a major hit, with Nikhat Kazmi, of the The Times Of India praising the chemistry between the leading couple.[35] She next played a supporting role in Anil Sharma's melodrama Apne. Featuring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kirron Kher and Shilpa Shetty, the film was a box-office hit.Her next release was David Dhawan's unofficial remake of Hitch, Partner, where she starred alongside Salman Khan, Govinda, and Lara Dutta. Her final film of 2007, Welcome, directed by Anees Bazmee and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor, was declared a blockbuster in India, despite negative reviews from critics.
Her first release of 2008 was Abbas-Mustan's action-thriller Race; she played Saif Ali Khan's secretary, Sophia, who is secretly in love with his hostile stepbrother (played by Akshay Khanna). The film also featured Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy in leading roles. Despite its success, Kazmi wrote, "Katrina is too pale as the blousy secretary who comes into her own only when she gets seductive with a Touch me, kiss me tenor. "
Kaif was next seen in Anees Bazmee's action comedy Singh Is Kinng, portraying Akshay Kumar's love interest and Ranvir Shorey's fiancée. After its release, the film 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 of 2008. Kaif's final release of the year, Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj, was a commercial failure, but its script made its way into the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for artistic merit, original screenplay with a substance, and the film as a whole.
In 2009, she featured in Kabir Khan's terrorism drama New York, with John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It was a critical and commercial success in both India and overseas. Kaif's performance was highly praised: Taran Adarsh wrote, "Katrina gives you the biggest surprise. Known for her glamour roles, Katrina proves that she can deliver if the director and writer offer her a role of substance. She's outstanding. In fact, people will see a new, different Katrina this time." For her performance, Kaif received her first Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category. She next had a cameo in the star-studded action-thriller Blue, popularly known as India's first underwater thriller, with Akshay Kumar and Zayed Khan. However, it was declared a flop. In November 2009, she appeared along with Ranbir Kapoor, in Rajkumar Santoshi's blockbuster comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, as Jennifer Pinto. Critics mostly praised her fresh chemistry with Kapoor rather than her performance as a whole.[46] Her final release that year was Priyadarshan's star-studded De Dana Dan with Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Neha Dhupia. The film had a promising opening, although dropped in collections throughout the following days. Despite this, the film was a moderate commercial success, receiving an "above average" status at the domestic box office by Box Office India.
Recent work (2010-present)
Kaif's first release of 2010 was Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti, where she appeared opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film was a modern-day adaptation of The Mahabharata set against the political backdrop of Delhi. Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai and Shruti Seth also played starring roles. Upon release, the film performed extremely well at the box office, and earned Kaif favourable reviews for her portrayal of the dynamic Indu Sakseria.[49] A sequel of Rajneeti is expected to show Katrina Kaif as the queen sized politician.However Ranbir Kapoor would not be a part of the sequel.
Her final release that year was Farah Khan's comedy Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar. Despite receiving unanimous negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, the film was a moderate success at the box office, receiving "Semi Hit" status by Box Office India. However, Kaif's item number Sheila Ki Jawani became a major chartbuster.
Kaif (second from left) promoting ZNMD in Chandigarh with the cast of the film
In 2011, she was seen alongside Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin in Zoya Akhtar's dramedy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which emerged as a major critical and commercial success. Kaif was praised for her portrayal of a fun-loving diving instructor Laila. Taran Adarsh wrote, "Katrina is a revelation...the actress continues to surprise you with her performances in film after film." She next featured in Yash Raj Films' comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opposite Imran Khan and Ali Zafar. The film was successful at the box office, and earned Kaif positive notice for her portrayal of vivacious punk-rock girl Dimple Dixit, with Rahul Gangwani saying "the film ultimately belongs to Katrina Kaif. She sparkles, sizzles and infuses energy into the film." Consequently, she received her second Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.
Kaif's first release of 2012 was Kabir Khan's spy thriller Ek Tha Tiger opposite ex-boyfriend Salman Khan. The film opened on 15 August 2012, broke many records and was a huge success commercially and kaif was liked for her role and amazing dance moves. Kaif's second release of 2012 was Yash Chopra's romance Jab Tak Hai Jaan alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. The film was declared a super hit and Kaif was liked by the audience for her role. As of August 2012, Kaif is set to appear in two high-profile productions; Vijay Krishna Acharya's adventure film Dhoom 3 alongside Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Uday Chopra and Siddharth Anand's Bang Bang opposite Hrithik Roshan.
It should be noted that due to her poor knowledge of Hindi (and other Indian languages), Kaif's voice was often dubbed by dubbing artists such as Mona Ghosh Shetty. However, with the exception of De Dana Dan she has used her own voice for all of her films since New York. Earlier, she had dubbed for films like Namastey London and Singh Is Kinng.
Stage performances and endorsements
In 2008, Kaif took part in Temptation Reloaded 2008, a series of concerts showcased across several different countries. The show, which also featured Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Ganesh Hegde, Javed Ali and Anusha Dandekar, took place at the Ahoy Rotterdam venue in Rotterdam, Netherlands.Several months later, she again joined Rampal, Kapoor and Khan to perform for 15,000 spectators at Dubai's Festival City Arena. In 2009, Kaif performed at the closing ceremony of the second edition of Indian Premier League alongside international rapper Akon at The Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg.[62] She also performed at many awards, Police Show events, concerts and also a performance at Temptations Reloaded concert with Shah Rukh Khan, Ali Zafar and Preity Zinta in Muscat in 2013.
Kaif has a number of endorsements and in this respect she is one of the highest paid Bollywood actresses., In 2002, she Kaif was chosen as Coca-Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu along with Tamil leading actor Vijay. The Coca-Cola advertisement was popular in Tamil Nadu, with Katrina Kaif and Vijay dancing to a Tamil song called "Gullu Gullu". She has also worked for several skin products companies, particularly Veet, as well as several multi-national brands, such as Panasonic. Kaif is also the brand ambassador of the national airline of the United Arab Emirates – Etihad Airways. As of 2013, she is brand ambassador of 17 brands - Lux, Veet, Yardley London, Panasonic, Nakshatra Diamonds, Slice, Relaxo Footwear, Berger Paints, Sony Mobiles, Etihad Airways, Olay, Choc On, Pantene, Doublemint, Titan Raga, Uniball Pens and Rhymeskool. She had a Barbie doll named after her and had endorsed various other brands like Airtel, Alokozay Tea, Dyna, Godrej, Lakme, Spice Telecom, 7 Heaven, Bramha Sun City, Diamond Hut, Durian, Fevicol, Silk n Shine, Kodak, Laxmipati Sarees, Old Admiral Brandy, L'Oreal, Provogue, Rage Knitwear, Rivaa Fashions, SD Loungewear, Seagrams Royal Stag, Sansung Plano, Seasons Store and The Watch House during her modeling days and also during her initial days in Bollywood.
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