Exploring Katrina's unbelievable run in Bollywood - Part I - Latest Bollywood News

In Bollywood, how many top actresses can boast of close to 90% success rate when it comes to box office success? Well, it isn't difficult to guess actually. There is just one and the lady goes by the name of Katrina Kaif. Rightly being hailed as the lucky mascot by many, her presence today is good enough to ensure that her film finds a queue of buyers for itself. In an industry where the sound of money is undoubtedly the sweetest of all, no wonder Katrina is at the top when it comes to the young stars.

This can pretty much be evidenced from the fact that today, Katrina Kaif is working with all three Top Khans - namely Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh. Not just that as each of these three films are coming from the banner of Yash Raj Films, and that too in a single year, something that is unprecedented even for the prestigious filmmaking house.

But was it all that easy for Katrina to begin with? Not at all! And this is what makes the journey of this UK girl, who didn't know a word of Hindi when she decided to hit the stage, all the more awe inspiring. In Part I of this special feature, here's presenting the enviable box office journey that Katrina has enjoyed in her eight year long run so far.

A miserable beginning that boomed

To term Boom as soft porn would be stating the obvious. In the garb of an A grade biggie, what with someone of the stature of even Amitabh Bachchan getting conned into doing the film, Boom stays on to be one of the worst films ever made in the history of Indian cinema. When even Big B didn't quite know what he was getting into, one can hardly blame a girl with stars in her eyes to have not got carried away.

So here she was, a girl who was just happy finding a big break in the company of the likes of Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre and Zeenat Aman, consent to playing a character which had a funny name that went as Popdi Chinchpokli. A fusion of heist, modelling and sex that went totally berserk in its narrative, the film required Katrina to get into quite a few dare bare shots. With women around her going totally uninhibited in their approach, Katrina too felt that this is what modern day Bollywood was all about and followed suit.

Of course she was uncomfortable in what she was doing and her worse fears came true when not just did the film bomb miserably but even her debut was universally panned. It seemed like the end of the road for the newbie and just when it seemed that it was time for her to pack bags, a Zanjeer like moment came in her life which managed to at least settle her career to some extent, if not elevate it.

Surprisingly the man who saw it happening in close vicinity was the angry young man of Zanjeer, Amitabh Bachchan, who was her co-star yet again (after Boom) in Sarkar.

Ramu came first, then Sallu

While popular notion is that it was Salman Khan who gave Katrina her first success with Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, the fact is that Sarkar came first. The role of Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend was not great shakes to begin with but Ram Gopal Varma's penchant for extracting good performances from every actor in his film, regardless of the length of the role, ensured that Katrina was noticed. Also, what mattered was Katrina's decision to work only in A grade films and this is what worked in her favour as well with Sarkar hitting the bull's eye.

In an industry where it's the success that matters, it wasn't about what Katrina did in the film. It was more about what the film did for her. The film was a success and soon followed Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya that released in the same month and ensured that she was pretty much in the running.

This time around it was the Salman magic that worked in conjunction with Katrina's 'Barbie Doll' appeal that resulted in the film being a good success. Though the film was threatened by some no-shows since there were certain personal charges against Salman that were made public, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya fortunately managed to find some good ground for itself and sustained at the box office.

Katrina, despite the presence of much senior Sushmita Sen in lead, did quite well for herself and was now breathing much easier than before. Bollywood had found a heroine for itself who could be given many chances ahead and with Salman on her side; she was fast picking the tricks of the trade as well.