Monday, June 25, 2012

Katrina Kaif is still the most bankable star

Katrina Kaif needn't worry about missing out on the 100-crore club. She's still the most bankable star, say filmmakers

The 100-crore club is the talking point of Bollywood right now and actors Kareena Kapoor (3 idiots, Bodyguard, RA.One, Golmaal 3), Sonakshi Sinha (Dabangg, Rowdy Rathore), Asin (Ghajini, Ready, Housefull 2) and Priyanka Chopra (Agneepath, Don 2) are ruling it. 

Strangely enough, Katrina Kaif, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors, is missing from this club. But trade analysts and filmmakers say that 100-crore club or not, Kat is still the most popular and bankable star.

 One has to agree that Chikni Chameli was the highlight of Agneepath. Moreover, in 2012-2013, Kat will be seen with all the three Khans (Ek Tha Tiger with Salman, Yash Chopra's next with SRK and Dhoom 3 with Aamir). "Kat's very hardworking and is dedicated to her roles. Despite coming from the UK, she has made a mark in the industry. She has some good films coming up and who can forget that Chikni... was the high point of Agneepath?" says a trade analyst.

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli agrees. "I want to work with her. I know her personally and it is difficult to get to the position that she has reached. She's an excellent actor," he says. Actor-producer Viveck Vaswani recently tweeted: "Aishwarya RaiBachchan, Katrina Kaif surprisingly not in any film #100crclub." "But Kat needn't worry about not being a part of the 100 crore film club. It doesn't matter if she was not there in films like Dabangg or Golmaal. She will hit back soon," adds Kunal.

Director Sujoy Ghosh says that the next year can't get any bigger for Kat, what with Ek Tha Tiger, Dhoom 3 and Yash Chopra's next in her kitty. "What Vidya found with her hits (The Dirty Picture, Kahaani), Kat will find with her films next year. She is the next crore girl to look out for," Sujoy says.

While Kareena and Priyanka are established stars, Asin and Sonakshi seem to be at the right place at the right time. "It depends on the kind of films the actors choose. Asin is a big name south, but she still has to make a mark in the Hindi film industry. Ghajini is famous more for Aamir Khan than her," says a film trade analyst.

Filmmaker Shirish Kunder stresses that the success of a 100 crore film doesn't depend on the actors alone. "It is a team effort, but only actors benefit when it does well. Katrina is an extremely talented actor and she is still big," he says. Shirish adds, "100 crore has nothing to do with an actor's capability. Random big budget flicks cannot decide her calibre as an actor. It's good that she hasn't been a part of them."

Asin says she does not take her inclusion in the 100-crore club too seriously. "Everybody is taking the term way too seriously. The 100-crore club is something very new in Bollywood and is much hyped. I am glad my film made it to the club, but that is not my main focus as an actor. I would rather concentrate on the script and my role in a film. To me, working with good producers and directors is good enough. I don't want to be part of the numbers game," she says.

The 100 cr club girls
Kareena Kapoor — 3 idiots, Bodyguard, RA.One, Golmaal 3
Priyanka Chopra — Agneepath, Don 2
Asin — Ghajini, Housefull 2, Ready
Sonakshi Sinha — Dabangg, Rowdy Rathore
(With inputs from P Sangeetha) 


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