After a string of films in which she was cast to add glamour, Kaif appeared in Kabir Khan's terrorism drama New York (2009).[68] Featuring John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh in lead roles, the film tells the story of how three friends' lives are changed when the former is wrongly detained after 9/11. Kaif played Maya, a college student who later marries a terrorist. The actress said that she identified with Maya, since she experienced similar isolation because of her skin colour when she was growing up in London.[69] Kaif also remarked that she was tired of "arm candy" roles and was looking for more substantial parts.[70] New York did well at the box office and received favourable reviews.[71][72] According to Subhash K. Jha, Kaif "comes into her own as an actress of substance ... From the carefree effervescent campus girl to the anguished wife, Katrina makes the journey look plausible all the way".[73] New York brought Kaif her first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress.[74] She then appeared in a cameo for India's first underwater thriller Blue.[75]
Kaif starred with Ranbir Kapoor in Rajkumar Santoshi's hit comedy, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), as an orphan forced to marry a rich man.[76] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Katrina Kaif continues to surprise ... She scores in both emotional and light scenes" and called her chemistry with Kapoor "electrifying".[77] Her final film of the year was Priyadarshan's comedy De Dana Dan.[70]
A woman dressed in a white salwar kameez (traditional Indian dress) with her hair down is smiling and looking away from the camera.
Kaif at a promotional event for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, 2011
In 2010, Kaif appeared in Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti as part of an ensemble cast which included Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai and Sarah Thompson. The film took inspiration from The Mahabharata and Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather.[78] Set in Bhopal, the film described a fiercely-fought election campaign by two parties attempting to seize power with manipulation, corruption and treachery. Although there was media speculation before the film's release that Kaif's character was based on Sonia Gandhi, the actress denied this. In preparation for her role as Indu (a politician loosely based on Draupadi), she watched Priyanka Gandhi's election campaign videos to study the body language and interaction of politicians.[79][80] The film received mainly positive reviews from critics.[81] Rajeev Masand found Raajneeti "thrilling and gripping", though Namrata Joshi was more critical and expressed her disappointment over the film's depiction of women.[82][83] Nikhat Kazmi considered Kaif's performance to be "carefree and camera-unconscious" and wrote that she "seems to slip into the high-powered shoes easily".[84] The film was highly successful at the box office, receiving a total collection of ₹1.4 billion (US$21 million).[55][85]
Kaif collaborated with Akshay Kumar for the sixth time in the slapstick comedy Tees Maar Khan (2010).[86] For her role as an aspiring actress, Kaif appeared in a popular item number titled "Sheila Ki Jawani". The song was choreographed by the film's director Farah Khan and for the belly dancing portion of the song, Kaif was trained by expert Veronica D'Souza.[87] "Sheila Ki Jawani" was often compared to another item number released the same year "Munni Badnaam Hui" from Dabangg.[88] Despite the song's popularity, Tees Maar Khan was panned by critics and underperformed at the box office.[89][90] Kaif's portrayal was not well received; Renuka Rao of Daily News and Analysis said that her "drama queen act is performed ... poorly", but noted that she "does full justice" to the item number.[91]
The following year, Kaif was paired with Hrithik Roshan in Zoya Akhtar's coming-of-age dramedy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.[92] The film narrates the story of three friends on a bachelor trip, and how the workaholism of one was overcome with the help of Laila (Kaif). The film was a critical and commercial success.[93][94] Richard Kuipers of Variety commented that she is "delightful as the sweet-natured girl who inspires everyone to look in the mirror and do something about it".[95] Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was one of the most awarded films of the year and received numerous Best Film accolades.[96]
Kaif then featured in Yash Raj Films' romantic comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) with Imran Khan and Ali Zafar,[97] She was cast as Dimple Dixit, a "talkative", "unpredictable" girl, a role she described as challenging as the character's personality contrasted with her own.[98] While the film earned mixed reviews, Kaif was generally praised for her portrayal.[46][99] The book Mother Maiden Mistress called Dimple one of the more interesting female characters of the year and Gaurav Malani of The Economic Times said the film was watchable because of "Katrina's live-wire energy wherein she never goes overboard and keeps bustling with vivacity through the runtime".[100][101] For this performance, Kaif received her second Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.[74]
Recent work (2012–present)
In 2012, Kaif appeared in "Chikni Chameli", an item number in Agneepath that incorporated dance steps from the Lavani genre (a Maharashtrian folk dance). The song was filmed over a ten-day period[102] and, according to the actress, "It was hard work. It was very fast and it was not a style I was used to, but I took it as a challenge".[103] Kaif appeared next in Kabir Khan's espionage thriller Ek Tha Tiger as a Pakistani ISI agent who falls in love with an Indian RAW agent. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote about her performance: "Katrina is an able, animated foil to Salman, her long legs making her leaps and kicks credible".[104] The film received predominantly positive reviews, with Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis calling it "smart and stylish".[105][106] With worldwide earnings of ₹3.1 billion (US$46 million), Ek Tha Tiger was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.[107][108]
A man in a suit is interlocking arms with two women. The woman on the left is wearing a blue one-shouldered gown with her hair up, while the woman on the right is wearing a gold sari (South Asian attire) with her hair down.
Kaif (right) with Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan at the premiere of Jab Tak Hai Jaan, 2012
That year Kaif also appeared with Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma in Yash Chopra's swan song, the romance Jab Tak Hai Jaan.[109] About working with Chopra, she remarked that he "undoubtedly is the king of romance and I have always admired the way he presents his heroines. It was always a dream to work with him and the reality is even better".[110] She played Meera, a woman who promises God to end her affair with her comatose lover if he survives. Although the film received mostly positive reviews, Kaif's performance had a mixed reception.[111] CNN-IBN wrote: "Meera's role was a difficult one and Katrina falls short in emotional scenes. It seems Katrina still doesn't feel very easy in front of the camera and has difficulty with complex expressions".[112] Commercially, the film proved a box-office hit with revenues of ₹2.11 billion (US$31 million) worldwide.[113]
In 2013, she appeared briefly with Aamir Khan in Vijay Krishna Acharya's action thriller Dhoom 3.[114] To prepare for her role as a circus performer, she undertook a year-long regimen of Pilates, functional training and aerial straps.[115] The film received ambivalent reviews and Kaif was criticised for taking on an insubstantial part.[116] Earning ₹5.42 billion (US$81 million) in box-office receipts, Dhoom 3 went on to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time until it was surpassed by PK in 2014.[117]
Kaif's next appearance was in Siddharth Anand's Bang Bang! (2014), a remake of the 2010 action comedy Knight and Day.[118] She played a bank receptionist who unwittingly gets caught up with a secret agent (Hrithik Roshan). Raja Sen of Rediff.com was disappointed with her performance, describing it as "insufferable".[119] Although the film was commercially successful, financial analysts observed that it failed to meet box-office expectations.[120] In 2015, Kaif's sole appearance was with Saif Ali Khan in Kabir Khan's post 26/11 counter-terrorism drama Phantom.[121]
As of April 2016, Kaif appeared in Abhishek Kapoor's adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (entitled Fitoor) in which she played a role based on Estella Havisham.[122] She is filming for Anurag Basu's comedy-mystery film Jagga Jasoos with Ranbir Kapoor and wrapped up Nitya Mehra's love story Baar Baar Dekho with Sidharth Malhotra.[123][124]
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