Katrina Kaif revealed that she is the complete opposite of herself in the film Zero. Her character Babita is that she had to go against her instincts to perform for the role.
“Because sometimes you rely on your instincts. What you think you would have done in a situation, you kind of transfer to the character. So, if there is someone I want to avoid at a party, I will stay far away. I will not disturb their space. I will not want them to disturb my space. I will keep a dignified distance. Babita would do the opposite. Because she is awkward, she will confront that,” said the actor.
She revealed, “Aanand [L Rai] sir was very clear with me. On the second day of the shoot, he came to my van and told me, ‘If Katrina is going to react in one way, Babita is going to do the exact opposite’.”
Adding about her character, Katrina said, “Babita will be obnoxious and aggressive which I think is a fascinating way to be because a lot of our nature is to hide and pull away from what scares us. That in itself is also another escapism. You are aggressive because you don’t know how to deal with that feeling. She is going through a lot of anger, insecurity and she is feeling dejected and she does not need to deal with that. Me as a person, probably what I will do is exactly opposite. I will do nothing, and I will stay quiet. I will not show and you will not know. Babita is a kind of person who will come and cause trouble. She will do things for effect. That’s her way of dealing with it but I think it makes for an interesting character,”
Katrina still believes in Babita, and takes it upon herself as an actor to see light and reasoning behind her motives. “People like to see characters that are fighting. Not characters who are lying down, feeling sorry for themselves that ‘Oh! My heart’s broken. Damn! I am feeling sorry for myself and you also feel sorry for me.’ That’s one way to be. The other way is you are fighting. You are fighting yourself because you don’t want to feel that way. So, it’s not that Babita is only fighting with other people. I think it’s a battle within herself that ‘No, I don’t want to feel like this. I don’t want anyone else to make me feel so bad about it.”
How does this differ from Katrina Kaif in real life? According to her, “I don’t try to escape. I try to face whatever I am feeling, understand it and make friends with it. I don’t run away from it, nor deny it. I make friends with it. First, be very comfortable with it, accept that it has happened and then try to find a solution. Sometimes you don’t find it. But I try.”
“I do believe that because Shah Rukh in his approach with women and his female co-stars is all about making you better and as good as you can be. He wants his female co-stars to shine. He wants them to be strong. I do feel that it does in the end. It does add to the fact that you very rarely see an insipid, incidental character in a Shah Rukh Khan film. It’s rare. Most of the female characters in his films are well-defined and most of the women in his films also get appreciated,” said Katrina.
