The times are changing across Indian cinema and Katrina Kaif, one of the top stars of the country, is changing with them.
The top 10 Indian films in the post-pandemic year 2023 were all star-driven blockbusters and Kaif was in the mix with Bollywood action extravaganza “Tiger 3,” the latest in Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, where she starred alongside Salman Khan. 2024 has seen a paradigm shift in that, with five of the top 10 films being what are known locally as “content films,” where a strong storyline takes precedence over spectacle.
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The Hindi-language Bollywood may be India’s most visible film industry globally and the term is often used internationally as shorthand for the country’s other film industries, much to their chagrin. To put matters in context, of the 1,796 Indian films released in 2023, 317 were in the Telugu language, 271 in Tamil and 241 in Kannada, with Bollywood in joint fourth place with Malayalam, with 218 each, according to data from the annual FICCI-EY industry report.
Kaif began 2024 by starring alongside southern Indian cinema star Vijay Sethupathy in the critically acclaimed Hindi and Tamil-language bilingual noir “Merry Christmas.” Directed by Sriram Raghavan (“Andhadhun”), the film is based on Frédéric Dard’s French novel “Le Monte-charge” (“Bird in a Cage”).
“I was in love with the book. I was just like, ‘Wow,’ I mean, it was everything you wanted in this space. It was tender, poetic, it had that very mysterious Hitchco*ckian quality to it. It had drama, it had mystery, it had murder, it had everything in the most unique and novel way,” Kaif told Variety over a zoom call from Mumbai.
Raghavan was on top of the list of directors Kaif wanted to work with and she sought him out. “There’s a certain rawness and realness to the characters in his films when you watch them on screen, they’re very flawed, they’re very imperfect, but there’s like a tangible, humane quality about them, they feel very real, like I’ve seen this person or I know this person,” Kaif said. “He has a certain grip on having something relatable to what he depicts on screen, even though sometimes the situations are so outlandish, but yet the characters are so you can feel you can understand what they’re going through, and you relate to their emotions.”
With six sisters scattered around the globe and her mother running a school for underprivileged children in southern India, Kaif had a peripatetic childhood. At the age of 18, she became a model in India and was soon rubbing shoulders with the best in the business. Films inevitably followed. Her acting debut, 2003 crime thriller “Boom,” was a critical and commercial disaster despite the presence of Bollywood heavyweights Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff. It is clear that Kaif has expunged the film from her memory. When asked to recount her cinematic journey Kaif says: “I think my first foray was in a South Indian film, a Telugu film actually [2004 romcom “Malliswari” where she plays the titular role of a wealthy heiress]. And from there, I started getting on-camera experience and then working my way slowly, meeting directors, producers. I felt that I had done what I wanted to do in the modeling industry, I felt ‘okay, I’ve understood the scene.’ I had a few targets and goals and I’d achieved those. And for me, my desire and my heart was in the movies.”
Upon the suggestion of filmmaker Dharmesh Darshan, Kaif, who is now known for her exceptional dancing skills, underwent intense training under the late guru Veeru Krishnan, who was an exponent of the Kathak dance form. “Dance is one thing, but I feel like Kathak is about expression. It’s about a feeling, it’s about expressing yourself through music. And that, for me was my foundation for movies,” Kaif says. “It was about understanding the emotion and the language of cinema. I was almost quiet, a little timid, very naive, I wasn’t sure of my identity in terms of what was my voice, my expression as a girl, as a woman. I was very young. So, I think that really helped me find my voice.”
Kaif also benefited from the sage advise of co-star Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire”) on the sets of “Humko Deewana Kar Gaye” (2006) who told her to get into the headspace of the scene they were about to perform, rather than walking back and forth. “Having been surrounded by thespians, I was like a sponge, I was very eager to learn, and very open, I was not a person who ever had any airs or preconceived notions,” Kaif says.
Significant success followed. Kaif counts drama-romance “Namastey London” (2007) and comedies “Welcome” (2007) and “Singh Is King” (2008) among the highlights of her early career. Thriller “New York” (2009) was a turning point, Kaif says. The actor also lists comedy “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani” (2009), political drama “Rajneeti” (2010) and coming-of-age film “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (2011) as her standout films of that time.
“I wouldn’t call them films, I would call them moments in my life. They were surrounded by an entire emotion, an entire feeling. It wasn’t just playing a character and going home, it seeped into my life at that time, the film would become my entire life. That film, that crew, that moment, that environment would become my whole life. I’d be consumed and then the film would release and there would be a moment of emptiness and loss. And then you would go on to the next one. These are all incredible moments for me as an actor, as a performer,” Kaif says.
The next chapter in Kaif’s journey featured big-budget high octane action films, including “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) that kicked off the immensely successful spy universe, “Dhoom 3” (2013) and “Bang Bang” (2014). “I was doing exactly what I wanted to do. These were the filmmakers I wanted to work with,” Kaif says. Kaif’s love affair with dance also continued, with her being actively involved in the choreography. The actor also rates her work in action-adventure “Jagga Jasoos” (2017), drama “Zero” (2018) and cop film “Sooryavanshi” (2021), which was the first major Bollywood theatrical release post-COVID.
Meanwhile, the spy universe continued with “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017) and “Ek Tha Tiger” (2023). A sequence set in a hammam (Turkish bath) is a particular highlight for the actor. “For me dance and action are similar in that sense – I need to be in there, I have to execute it,” Kaif says, adding that she rarely uses stunt doubles. The hammam sequence is a case in point where Kaif executed all the action herself as her double came down with COVID-19.
Kaif’s train of thought is interrupted as her phone rings. It’s her husband, the actor Vicky Kaushal. She’ll call him back later. Kaushal is also a perfect example of a changing Bollywood where the story can take precedence over spectacle. His 2023 filmography includes an extended appearance in top 10 hit, immigration drama “Dunki,” playing the lead in military hero biopic “Sam Bahadur” and headlining small-town romcom “Zara Hatke Zara Bachke.”
In 2023, the Indian film industry grew 14% to reach a value of $2.3 billion, within which theatrical revenues reached an all-time high of $1.4 billion. The number of screens grew 4% and fewer films released directly on digital platforms. Kaif’s current trajectory mirrors that growth.
“I’ve always put the audiences first and have tried to with my choices throughout my career. And now I think it’s about finding a balance, what story do I feel is going to connect with the audience? And what do I connect to personally and as an actor right now? What’s going to give me growth? What’s going to give me satisfaction? This is just exactly what I want to be doing right now,” Kaif says.
The West came calling recently, but circ*mstances at the time meant that Kaif had to turn the offer down. “I do believe it will happen, and I think that will be a whole new leaf in my book, so to speak, and really exciting,” Kaif says.
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