By Dibyojyoti Baksi
Mumbai, Aug 15 (IANS) Katrina Kaif's decision to do two Yash Raj Films (YRF) with the warring Khans - Salman and Shah Rukh - has raised eyebrows, but the actress is unperturbed and argues there are no camps in Bollywood.
Katrina is set to start shooting with Salman Khan for "Ek Tha Tiger" next week and her film with Shah Rukh, which is veteran direcor Yash Chopra's untitled venture, is expected to go on floors in a few months' time.
"There is a problem, there is a misconception that the media has (that there is a camp system). We all have different equations. Friendly, not so friendly, but everyone respects everyone's individuality. There are really no camps or something like that," Katrina told IANS in an interview.
"New York" was Katrina's first film with YRF and after that she signed their "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" and now the two films with the two Khans.
Glimpses of Katrina's rock star look in "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan", where she will be seen puffing a bidi and strumming a guitar in tattered jeans and a tee, have created ripples of excitement among her followers. And the actress explains her new avatar as her endevaour to offer something fresh in each film to avoid being boringly predictable.
"Small things make the difference. You are doing two films a year. Even if you are showing something, which is a little different from the previous film, then the audience doesn't get bored," said the 27-year-old, who has been part of the industry for eight years now.
"If I can do 15 percent better or add on something with every film, then people would not bear the impression that I am not putting in my hard work."
The directorial debut of Ali Abbas Zafar, "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" is a romantic comedy where Imran Khan and Pakistani singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar play leads opposite her.
The recent favourite of the YRF banner, Katrina believes that "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" is the right film to collaborate with Imran.
"It's a romantic comedy, very exaggerated tongue-n-cheek kind. It's a little bit larger than life, louder like my film 'Aajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'. For Imran and me, it was a very new space. We didn't know each other much and there had to be a fine-tuning, which eventually helped us to get into the characters that we are playing.
"It was a nice first film for both of us to do together," said the actress, who has so far made a successful on-screen 'jodi' with Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.
She revealed that the film has a close resemblance to filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1975 classic comedy "Chupke Chupke" that boasts of amazing performances by Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Asrani and Om Prakash.
"It's on the line of Dharamji's 'Chupke Chupke'," said Katrina.
To bring reality to her character, Katrina learned to play guitar and her knowledge about the instrument helped her portray the character of a rock singer more convincingly in the film.
"I am learning the guitar. For an actor it's really easy to be a rock star. Wear some boots, wear some jeans, wear kajal, dishevel your hair, hold a guitar and strum the strings. I can actually hold the guitar right as I know how to play it," said Katrina.
"Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" is set to hit the theatres Sep 9.