Katrina Kaif disagrees with the term ‘item song’, gives her idols Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Beyonce’s example

Katrina Kaif has come a long way in the 16 years she has been a Hindi film actor — from being known mainly for her dancing ability, to her acting talent being proved by films such as New York, Rajneeti and Zero. On how this journey has been so far, Katrina says, “Sometimes I feel it has been long, and sometimes, not long at all. Someone the other day said ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan was six years ago’, to me it feels two and a half maybe. It doesn’t feel like years. Time just flies. I feel myself to be really fortunate. Without getting into too many details, all my experiences have taught me. Some have been good, some not so good. I’ve gone through some interesting times and phases.”

Today, as many female actors such as Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma have turned producers, not many know that Katrina nearly became a producer over a decade ago. “There are people right now... I spoke about getting into production 8-10 years ago, it just never happened.” Prodded on what held her back, she adds, “In life, you have these ideas. Nothing held me back. I got caught up with different aspects in different areas of my own life. I don’t know if it will happen again, but I would like to, if ever.”

She even has a story planned. “It will definitely be a co-production of some sort. About two strong female characters, in a larger set-up. Size doesn’t matter, the story does. It will be a cinematic experience for an audience to see something like that. Nothing to preach or bore the audience. We will see where we go with that...” adds Katrina, who will be seen in Bharat next, alongside Salman Khan.

In an age where the whole conversation has steered towards films fronted by women, and making workplaces safer for women is a priority, ‘item songs’ are not looked upon kindly. Katrina is one of the best dancers Bollywood has churned out, with songs such as Chikni Chameli and Shiela Ki Jawani scorching the big screen. But filmmaker Karan Johar, in a recent interview, had said, “I have no problem with like a girl dancing, that’s not an item number. An item song is when she is objectified and when there are men lusting for her like Chikni Chameli. I don’t think I would ever do that again.”

Ask Katrina her reaction, and she replies, “I disagree with the word ‘item song’. I can only speak for me, and cannot comment for other girls, ladies, directors or producers. I can speak about my take on music and dancing. We can get into a debate for each lyric and exactly what it said! For me, my idols in dancing are [late] Sridevi ji, Madhuri (Dixit Nene), Madonna and Beyonce. These are women... if you go see Beyonce in a concert tomorrow, how she represents herself, I don’t think they are objectifying women. They are expressing and empowering themselves.”

She goes on to add: “If you feel you are being objectified by your choreographer and what you are doing in the song, then please, by all means, I really hope you never do that. Dance is a wonderful art form. If you are dancing to express yourself, that’s a beautiful thing. It’s not a wrong thing. Everything in life cannot be given... I feel sometimes when we are trying to make changes, everything starts getting piled up together.”

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