Every actor gets affected by success and failure: Katrina Kaif

The horror comedy genre has seen significant traction in cinema as well as OTT content in recent times. Movie like ‘Stree’, ‘Roohi’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ 1 and 2, ‘Bhoot Police’ and more, have enthralled the audiences. In fact, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ has been one of the most successful Bollywood films in a tough year like 2022.

Following this movie’s success, there is a lot of excitement about and expectation from the upcoming horror comedy film ‘Phone Bhoot’, which stars Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khattar in the lead roles. The movie is slated for release on November 4, 2022, immediately after Halloween. ‘Phone Bhoot’ has been produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, directed by Gurmmeet Singh and written by Ravi Shankaran and Jasvinder Singh Bath.

Adgully caught up with the film’s stars, Katrina Kaif and Ishaan Khattar, at a recent press meet and in a freewheeling conversation spoke to them on their upcoming film, as well as about the evolving face of box office success, rich content and artistic expression of freedom, the current comedy scenario in films, trollers on social media, and more.

How do you look back at your journey in films so far? Do box office results really matter to you, or do you think quality material is more important?

Katrina Kaif: I feel that from day one content will always be the king and also that every actor gets affected by success and failure. Some actors get affected for a longer period and some for a shorter period; that, of course, is down to your personality and how your emotions are. But you will always be affected by success and failure in your heart. You will always feel elated when a film works and connects with the audiences, because it means that you have the audience connected to you and to what you have done. And that is a wonderful feeling. If a film doesn’t work, that will always hurt because that means that they did not connect to you. So, somewhere you think where did my translation or performance of this character go wrong?

According to me, content and a good, strong script will always be the number one most deciding factor. And that always has to be the deciding factor for any film you ever do.

What’s next on your bucket list, such as the genre you want to work in or the director you want to collaborate with?

Katrina Kaif: That is a tough one, there are so many phenomenal people around that I have yet to work with. But as I said, I think that wasn’t one of the first questions. I mean, there’s definitely something that I feel I want to do in the action space, but with an emotional angle; like I feel that that is sometimes a key which we live in, female-driven action pieces that you need to have the emotional angle behind, otherwise people don’t connect. Because otherwise you are in an alien world doing alien things, so you need something to connect to. So yes, I would love to be part of that.

I’ve still not done a period film yet. I’ve been saying that for the last 10 years that I’d love to be in a period drama. After 19-20 years in this industry, there’s still so much left for me to explore and accomplish. I just want to keep exploring, reinventing and keep evolving.

How do you view the current comedy scenario in the industry Also, how do you deal with the trollers on social media?

Ishaan Khattar: I think artistic expression of freedom has to be there. Because if you can’t speak your heart out, then how can you make a difference or bring a change in the world? Comedy and humour are such tools which open the hearts of people. You can express your deep thoughts through comedy or else you can make comedy which is merely for entertainment and fun. Anything which brings a smile to the face has merit to it. I think we need more laughter in the world. So, I don’t think comedy should be banned or suppressed. It should be encouraged and if it hurts your feelings, then don’t watch it.

And the trollers out there are also actually trying to be a comic in some or the other way. If I talk about trolling personally, I have my own phase in life, as I started very young as an actor - I was 21. If you spend a lot of time reading about yourself or listening to something, it can affect you and start playing with your mind and I know about that. So, I am taking this less seriously. I just look for more constructive criticism instead of trolling.

How do you view the growing popularity of K-dramas and Turkish dramas in India? Are there any favourite series or movies that you have liked in the recent times?

Ishaan Khattar: My mom is a great fan of Turkish drama, so we have one member of the family following the trend. I think there is a lot of interesting work being consumed globally and I have always been a lover of world cinema. There are a lot of films which make me think that once in a lifetime I should get a chance to play these kinds of roles. But I am not particularly drawn towards remakes and adaptations, I would rather do something which is original, which is text-to-screen so that there is more liberty to make it your own. I just want to do good work.