Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif born 16 July 1984 is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi-language film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. She was voted the sexiest Asian woman in the world by Eastern Eye in the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Being a British citizen, she works in India on an employment visa.

Kaif made her acting debut with Kaizad Gustad's box office bomb Boom. She tasted success in 2007 with Vipul Shah's Namastey London and Anees Bazmee's Welcome. She has since appeared in films like New York (2009) and Rajneeti (2010). While the former earned Kaif her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination, the latter emerged as her biggest commercial success so far.

Personal life

Kaif was born to an Indian Kashmiri father, Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Susanna Turcotte, both of whom are British citizens. 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." Kaif has seven siblings; a brother and six sisters. From Hong Kong, she and her family moved to China, then to Japan. From there she went (by boat) to France when she was 8, and thereafter lived for a few months at a time in Switzerland, Kraków, Berlin, Belgium, and many other East 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.In 2011, she confirmed she was single.

Career

Modeling and early film career (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 of 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 lead roles. Upon release, the film became a moderate success with Taran Adarsh, a prominent film critic, praising Kaif as a "complete revelation". The following year, she was paired opposite Akshay Kumar for the first time 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." 

Success (2007- present)
 In 2007, Kaif appeared in Vipul Shah's romantic-comedy Namastey London, portraying 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.[23] 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. This too was box-office success. 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.

Her first release of 2008 was Abbas-Mustan's hit 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 and 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.

Kaif's first release for 2009 was 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 nomination in the Filmfare Award for 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 own performance. Her final release that year was Priyadarshan's star-studded De Dana Dan with Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Neha Dhupia. Despite a good opening, the film failed to do well at the box office.

Kaif's first film of 2010 was Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti, where she appeared opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film is 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.

Her last release was Farah Khan's brainless comedy Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar. The film was released on 24 December 2010. The film received mainly negative reviews and was declared a flop. However, Kaif's item number Sheila Ki Jawani became a major chartbuster.

On 15 July 2011, she was seen alongside Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin in Zoya Akhtar's road adventure Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. which was a critical and box office success. She will also be featured in Yash Raj Films's Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opposite Imran Khan and Ali Zafar.

Filmography

2003     Boom     Rina Kaif/Popdi Chinchpokli    
2004     Malliswari     Princess Malliswari     Telugu film
2005     Sarkar     Pooja    
2005     Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya     Sonia    
2005     Allari Pidugu     Shwetha     Telugu film
2006     Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye     Jia A. Yashvardhan    
2006     Balram vs. Taradas     Supriya     Malayalam film
2007     Namastey London     Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra    
2007     Apne     Nandini Sarabhai    
2007     Partner     Priya Jaisingh    
2007     Welcome     Sanjana Shetty    
2008     Race     Sophia    
2008     Singh Is Kinng     Sonia Singh    
2008     Hello     Story-teller     Cameo
2008     Yuvvraaj     Anushka Banton    
2009     New York     Maya Shaikh     Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress
2009     Blue     Nikki     Cameo
2009     Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani     Jennifer "Jenny" Pinto    
2009     De Dana Dan     Anjali Kakkad    
2010     Raajneeti     Indu Sakseria/Pratap    
2010     Tees Maar Khan     Anya Khan    
2011     Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara     Laila    
2011     Bodyguard     Herself     Special appearance in song "Bodyguard"
2011     Mere Brother Ki Dulhan     Dimple Dixit     Released on September 09, 2011
2011     Main Krishna Hoon     Radha     Cameo

2012     Ek Tha Tiger         Filming