Katrina Kaif hopes people like her in ‘Raajneeti’ Katrina Kaif thought that she was confused with someone else when filmmaker Prakash Jha approached her for the film Raajneeti. Obviously, her first expression was of shock. Katrina Kaif was not willing to do the lead role of a politician in Rajneeti and she was in fact was shocked when the director of the film offered the role. This was revealed by the actress today to the media. She thought that Prakash Jha, director of the film was confusing for some other actress and came to her wrong address. So, she asked the director if he had seen any of her films. Katrina was known for light comedy roles in the Bollywood films and had never done any serious characters. This is the reason that she was shocked when Rajneeti was offered to her. She plays a serious politician in the film. Her character is taken from the epic Mahabharat’s Draupadi in the film that is to be released shortly. Katrina has said that the film is a different step in her carrier. The film will be released on June 4. Other cast includes Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar and Naseerudin Shah.  But willing to prove herself, Kat took the plunge and said yes to the film. The actress tells an agency, “I was shocked when Prakash ji approached me for ‘Raajneeti’. I asked him if he’d seen any of my films and he was not confusing me with anyone else.” Katrina’s role is modeled on Mahabharata’s Draupadi as she is the only female character among the bunch of other actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor. And this was a role for which Kat did a lot of homework as well as hardwork, because reciting lines in shudh Hindi wasn’t easy for her and nor was portraying a complex character like that of a politician. Till now she has played all the light romantic characters, and now after doing ‘Raajneeti’, she knows she has taken a ‘big leap’. We hope it’s the coming of age performance for the actress.  . Katrina Kaif latest Videos...

''I know my character is not based on Sonia Gandhi's life,'' Katrina told a private news channel.
Appearing on India TV's 'Aap Ki Adalat' show last night, Katrina asserted that her character in Prakash Jha's film was not based on Congress president Sonia Gandhi's life.

She, however, admitted that Prakash Jha had given her some videos of speeches by political leaders, which she went through before playing the role.

''The key was to observe the body language and the way they conducted themselves on stage. I took little inspiration from everyone and compose a new character of my own,'' said Katrina, who appeared on the show along with her co-stars Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Vajpayee, Arjun Rampal and director Prakash Jha.

Asked whether she had any intention of joining politics, Katrina said, ''No, not at all. Not right now. I will concentrate on films".

NEW DELHI -- UTV Motion Pictures' latest release, political drama “Raajneeti,” collected 620 million rupees ($13.7 million) from 2,200 screens worldwide during its June 4 opening weekend.

Directed by Prakash Jha, the critically-acclaimed ensemble drama revolves around the power struggles within a political family, portrayed by veterans such as Nasseeruddin Shah and rising stars such as actor Ranbir Kapoor and actress Katrina Kaif.

Weeks before its release, the film was in the spotlight for its portrayal of a leading female character (Kaif) apparently inspired by Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born leader of India's ruling Congress party.

This year's earlier major release was Reliance Big Pictures' “Kites,” which collected over 650 million rupees following its May 21 release. But “Kites” -- budgeted at about $20 million -- was released on 2,500 screens, compared to the 2,200 screen count for “Raajneeti,” with an estimated budget of $9 million.

The opening weekend India take for “Raajneeti” yielded 510 million rupees from 1,900 screens. In the U.K., the film grossed $315,048, while the U.S. take was $916,446.

The next major summer release is Reliance's “Raavan” by acclaimed director Mani Ratnam, which bows June 18, starring leading actor Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai, who also promoted the film at Cannes.

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