Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 20, 2017)

Katrina Kaif is fairly distanced from Kangana Ranaut’s stance that featuring alongside the three Khans diminishes the position of women on screen. The actor, in fact, has independent ventures with the trio — Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh — in the pipeline. While she thinks each one is free to follow their own creative course, personally, she prefers working with creative minds, even if they are male actors who carry a film on their shoulders alone. "If a female actor feels that working with the Khans is synonymous to leaning on them for success, she simply shouldn’t work with them. However, I’ve always approached my career with the aim of collaborating with the most creative minds,” Kaif tells mid-day.

Chronicling what the actors bring to the table during such associations, Kaif says, “Aamir is among the brightest minds that cinema has. Salman and SRK are among the best talents in the country. Why wouldn’t I want to learn from them? I like to work on happy sets, with friends who share the same passion as I do.”

Her upcoming release, Tiger Zinda Hai, she argues, places her alongside Salman, instead of merely portraying her as his arm candy. Kaif’s character, Zoya, she says, can portray as much bravado as Khan’s Tiger, in Ali Abbas Zafar’s directorial venture.

The depiction has her questioning the tendency of female stars to chase solo outings. “A female actor doesn’t necessarily need to play the lone protagonist to display her strength. Why can’t we have stronger female characters in bigger set ups? That’s equally empowering. What we offer in this film is a fresh perspective. We have a strong woman standing alongside a powerful man. There’s Salman, who plays an authoritative character, but there is also me, matching that bravado.”

Returning to the big screen with her former-flame-turned-friend after five years, Kaif, it is evident, holds a special affection for Salman. That their ever-evolving dynamics has caused little havoc in their relationship is made evident when she says, “Wherever life takes me, Salman will always be family.” Yet, she doesn’t fuss over the fact that the actioner doesn’t particularly delve into their romance. “The romance of Tiger and Zoya can’t enable the story to progress. We know they are married. A film about the domestic life of spies doesn’t have enough fodder to make for an interesting story. Besides, we don’t need romantic scenes to establish our chemistry.”