I have gained confidence as an actor: Katrina

New Delhi, Apr 19 (UNI) With her ethereal looks, she could easily qualify as one of the most beautiful actresses in Bollywood today.

He roles in her last two films 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya' and 'Sarkar' may have showcased her just as a newcomer with "good looks", but with her next film 'Humko Diwana Kar Gaye', Katrina is set on the path to establish herself as an actress with ''more than just a good face''.

The film, which released on April 7, has won rave reviews for Akshay and Katrina. The film has Katrina, for the first time, in the central role of a girl who falls in love with a person during a chance encounter with him.

''For the first time, I am doing a film which has me in the solo lead. Hitherto all my films, whether it be 'Boom', 'Sarkar' or 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya' featured me either in guest appearances ('Sarkar') or in a supporting role of a foreign returned girl. So, I am quite excited at the prospect of having my first solo film,''Katrina said.

Talking about her role, Katrina, in an interview to UNI, said,''it's about a simple girl Jia from a rich family settled abroad who, while on a shopping trip, meets a person (Akshay Kumar) and subsequently keeps on bumping into him. It is about how after meeting Akshay, her life changes forever.'' The twist lies in the fact that both the boy and the girl were already engaged.

For Katrina, bagging a solo lead in a film by renowned director Raj Kanwar was nothing short of a windfall.

''As a teenager, I have loved the family films by Raj Kanwar. In that sense, bagging the central role of Jia in 'Humko Diwana Kar Gaye' was a dream come true indeed,''Katrina said.

The film features her alongside actor Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu.

On the experience of working with Akshay, Katrina says,''Akshay is a very helpful, co-operative and professional actor. Also, it is a learning experience working with an established actor.'' Asked whether she felt the audience would accept her in the role of a typical ''girl-next-door from a rich family'' given her anglicised accent and her western looks which were all too visible in films like 'Sarkar' and, to some extent, also in 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya', Katrina said,''well, 'Sarkar' happened two years ago. Since then, I have gained much confidence as an actor. Also, during this period, I have tried to master Hindi as best as I can. Also, I have worked hard on my accent.'' After 'Humko Diwana Kar Gaye', Katrina will be seen in Sohail Khan's next home-production 'Partner'. The film, directed by David Dhawan, features Katrina alongside Govinda.

Then, there is Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay," in which she plays Jaya Bachchan's role of Radha. Also on the anvil is Anil Sharma's 'Apne' which , for the first time, stars the three Deols, Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby, together.

Katrina is also doing Abbas-Mastaan's next as also a comedy by Anees Bazmee (of 'No Entry' fame).

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