I never claimed to be the best actor: Katrina Kaif

She had just one release last year and it hit the jackpot at the box office. After the success of Bang Bang, Katrina Kaif has many reasons to smile. The busy actress, who is now looking forward to two major releases this year — Jagga Jasoos and Phantom — is just back from a family vacation. It was a much-needed break for the actress whose calendar is always choc-a-bloc with her film and endorsement commitments.

Spending Christmas with her family in London has always been her priority. “I am close to my family. They, along with my team, are the ones who keep me grounded. When I’m with them, there’s no pressure to look a certain way. We go out shopping, play scrabble and card games and catch up on each other’s lives. They don’t treat me like a star. That’s my ‘me’ time and I value that,” she says.

There have been talks about her sister Isabelle trying her luck in Bollywood. But Kat says there are no concrete developments yet. “Isabelle has just had a big hit in Canada, with a film titled Dr Cabbie. She is happy doing films there. I am, in fact, the one who tells her that she should come to India as I can help her here, since I have all my contacts here. If she decides to work here I would definitely guide her and help her get work. She is a trained dancer and an amazing performer. When I started out I neither had the contacts, nor was I as confident as a dancer. But that isn’t the case with Isabelle,” says Katrina.

While on the subject of her loved ones, her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor has always been under scrutiny. And now the media is almost always stationed outside their new home. But Kat is not willing to talk on the subject. “It isn’t just now but very early on in my career I had decided that I won’t talk about my personal life, even if people speculate on the same. Some things are just meant to be personal. It’s important to reserve a certain aspect of life just for yourself,” she says sternly.

The busy actress admits that she likes her life that way. “I get restless when I don’t work. Both my upcoming films, be it Phantom or Jagga Jasoos, because of their grand scale, took a lot of time to shoot. I’m glad my films are doing well. I choose my projects based on a gut feeling. So it’s great that it’s all working out,” she says with a smile.

While her films continue to hit the bullseye at the ticket windows, it’s her acting that has failed to draw much praise. “All I can say is that I really am not forcing people to watch my films, if they think I am a bad actor. Once I remember there was this film of mine that had done very well but I had got criticised in the reviews. The director and actor of that film explained to me that if the film has done well, somewhere even I have contributed to its success. It’s not like the audience only watched the other actors and shut their eyes when I came on-screen.

It may not be the most politically correct example but once Salim (Khan) saab had told me ‘You don’t have to be bad just to fit in’ and that’s something I believe in. So I’m putting my best in all my films and it’s really up to the audience to decide if they want to watch them or not. I’ve never claimed to be the best actor in town. There may be much better actors around but on my part I am giving my best to whatever I take up.”

While her acting chops continue to be debated upon, as of today, Katrina seems to be balancing her image as a dance star as well as an action star. “I have grown to enjoy both genres. In Bang Bang though  it was Hrithik who did the major stunts but I got appreciation for my stunts too. When I started out I wasn’t really a good dancer. I was just about 19 and would think ‘I can’t dance well, this must be a bad thing’.

But over the years, that has changed, I’ve grown more confident and passionate about it. Now I would love to do a full-fledged dance-based film, if I am offered one.  Jagga Jasoos is a musical with its share of dancing, while Phantom again has some tough action and I’m glad I’ve pulled all that off. We shot in tough conditions.”