Around 2000, an 18-year-old Katrina Kaif was cast opposite John Abraham in Anurag Basu’s Saaya, which was set to be her first Bollywood film as a lead actress. She shot a few scenes over two days, but soon after, producer Mahesh Bhatt reportedly asked that she be removed from the film. When the team informed her, Katrina broke down in tears and left the set, believing her acting career had ended before it had even begun.
Born in Hong Kong, Katrina began modelling at the age of 14. She later came to India on the suggestion of a friend and landed a role in the 2003 film Boom. After being dropped from Saaya, she met Salman Khan later that day and tearfully shared what had happened. To this, Salman laughed, a moment Katrina would remember as she continued pursuing her Bollywood dream.
Katrina said, annoyed- I was removed from my first film, my life is over, and you are laughing.
Salman said, laughing loudly- This won’t matter, I know you are going to go very far. All this will happen. I don’t have an answer right now, but you will see how far you will go. What Salman had said that day truly came true. The film Saaya, from which Katrina was removed, flopped, and in 2005, not one but two big films of Katrina were released. The first was Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek’s film ‘Sarkar’, and the second was the film ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’ which came with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. In this film, Katrina became popular across the country with her beauty and charm. The songs were also blockbusters. Later, Katrina established herself among the top actresses by delivering hit after hit like Welcome, Namaste London, Ek Tha Tiger.
Today, Katrina Kaif turns 43. On the special occasion of her birthday, know the interesting story of her life-
Came to India for travel, got a B-grade film
Katrina Kaif was born on 16 July, 1983, in Hong Kong. She was the middle child among one brother and six sisters. Her mother Suzanne was foreign and her father was Kashmiri. Katrina was young when her father left her mother and seven children.
See Katrina’s childhood pictures-
For a living, her mother sometimes went to China, sometimes to Japan. Sometimes she took the children to France by boat, and sometimes to Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Hawaii, and London. Due to constantly changing cities for a living, her schooling could not be done properly. Some tutors would come home and teach all the siblings together.
Katrina was just 14 years old when she won a beauty contest, after which she continuously started receiving offers for jewelry ads and modeling.
Thanks to her talent, she became a model for London Fashion Week. It was here that she met an Asian girl who modeled with her. One day, that girl told Katrina that she should visit India sometime. As soon as Katrina got free time, she booked a ticket to India.
One day, she went to watch a fashion show with her friend. Here, London filmmaker Kaizad Gustad noticed her. Kaizad offered her the Hindi-English film ‘Boom’. It was a B-grade film, featuring big names like Amitabh Bachchan, Gulshan Grover, and Jackie Shroff. The producers of this film were Jackie Shroff and his wife Ayesha, who had invested all their savings in it and also taken a lot of debt.
Practiced a kissing scene with Gulshan Grover for 2 hours
In the film, Katrina got the role of a model who gets caught in diamond smuggling. For a scene in the film, Katrina Kaif had to give a bold kissing scene with Gulshan Grover, that too in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan. Director Kaizad suggested to Gulshan that he should practice before the final shot. Katrina was new, so to avoid embarrassment in front of everyone, Gulshan practiced the kissing scene with Katrina for 2 hours in a closed room.
Picture of Katrina Kaif and Gulshan Grover from the film Boom.
The film was released on September 19, 2003, and was a complete box office flop. All the money invested by Jackie Shroff was lost. To repay the creditors, Jackie Shroff first sold furniture, then cars, and finally, his house was also sold.
The film flopped, and Katrina’s British accent was also heavily criticized; despite this, she started receiving offers for many films.
Around this time, she walked for designer Rohit Bahl and many other big designers.
See pictures from Katrina’s early modeling career-
Later, Katrina appeared in big ads for brands like Coca-Cola, LG, Fevicol, and Samsung, in addition to the Kingfisher Calendar.
Katrina Kaif in Fevicol’s ad.
Befriended Salman’s sister, thanks to whom she became close to the Khan family
At the beginning of her career, Katrina Kaif met Alvira in a step class, both used to work out together. Katrina used to eat peanut butter and bread even during workouts, which Alvira found quite strange. Their conversation started on this topic and over time, their friendship grew stronger.
Katrina’s picture taken with Salman Khan’s sisters Alvira and Arpita.
One day, Alvira asked Katrina to accompany her to her brother Salman Khan’s birthday party. Only a few people were expected to attend this party. Katrina agreed and arrived at Galaxy Apartment in the evening. As soon as Katrina stepped forward, Salman was standing shirtless in front of her, and seeing her, he hastily went back into the room to hide. Katrina laughed seeing this.
In an interview given to Nitin Kakkar, Salman had said that on that day, before the guests arrived, he had worked out and then went to take a bath. He thought there was still time for the guests to arrive, so he came into the living room shirtless, unaware that Alvira was bringing her friend home.
After this awkward first meeting, Katrina often used to visit their home with Alvira, where she became friends with Salman.
Around this time, Mahesh Bhatt had auditioned Katrina for the film Saaya, and he liked Katrina then, although later Katrina was removed from the film.
While her Bollywood career wasn’t taking off, Katrina got a role in the South Indian film Malliswari (2004) opposite Venkatesh. Katrina received a fee of 75 lakh rupees for the film. This was the highest fee for an actress in the South at that time, compared to other South actresses. The film was a hit, and Katrina started receiving big offers from the South continuously. Katrina mentioned in an interview that she was offered fees equivalent to top South actors. However, Katrina’s focus was on Bollywood.
Katrina Kaif in a song from the South film Malliswari.
Choreographer insulted her during shooting
The shooting of a song from this South film took place outdoors. Katrina was new at the time and completely unfamiliar with Indian dance. She had to do retakes repeatedly because she couldn’t dance. The choreographer got annoyed by this. She said loudly on the mic, “This girl is completely zero. She can’t even dance.”
Katrina was very disappointed and thought to herself, “She’s speaking so loudly so that I can hear her, which means she wants me to hear it.”
Katrina didn’t say anything to that choreographer, but started working on her dance skills. Today, Katrina is considered one of Bollywood’s best dancers, having delivered songs like Sheila Ki Jawani, Chikni Chameli, Afghan Jalebi, and Ishq Parcham.
Got a Big Break Thanks to Salman
After her South debut, Salman had also seen some of Katrina’s audition clips and projects. Some time later, Salman Khan got David Dhawan’s film ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’ with Sushmita Sen. For this film, David Dhawan was looking for a new face for the role of a suicidal model, and that’s when Salman suggested Katrina’s name to him. David took Katrina’s screen test and, liking her work, cast her.
Around the same time, Katrina got a role in the film ‘Sarkar’ with Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Katrina shot both films simultaneously. Both films were released in July 2005. Despite less screen time in ‘Sarkar’, Katrina received a nomination for the Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Debut, while for ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’, she received the Stardust Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.
Ran away from Akshay’s film set, cried a lot
Next, Katrina Kaif was signed for the film Humko Deewana Kar Gaye with Akshay Kumar. This was going to be Katrina’s first major film as a lead actress. Before this, she only had small roles in all her films. The shooting for this film took place at Filmistan Studio. The shift was going to be long, but on the very first day, after shooting for 3 hours, Katrina Kaif broke down in tears. A little later, Katrina left the set without saying anything. She called the designer and asked, “Is this how work is done here? Are people made to work for so many hours? I am very tired. I cannot work like this. Can you find any other work?” The designer refused. In the evening, Katrina told her friends, “I am scared of Akshay, I cannot work like this.” However, after her friends persuaded her, Katrina agreed and completed the film. The film was a hit, and Akshay’s pairing with Katrina was much liked.
Katrina Kaif has done the most films with Akshay Kumar.
When Katrina wanted to leave India fearing a flop
After Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Katrina was cast with Akshay Kumar in Namaste London. When the film was ready, discussions started in film circles that it would be a big flop. Meanwhile, director Vipul Shah called Katrina to watch the film. After showing the film, Vipul Shah asked her how she liked it. Katrina, who was already troubled by gossip, left immediately without saying anything.
Katrina did not like the film. She assumed it would be a flop. She started packing her bags to leave India.
In the evening, she received a call from Vipul Shah’s assistant, who said – You left without answering, Vipul ji is upset with you.
Katrina immediately called Vipul and started giving false praises. She decided to stay in India until the film’s release, but after the release, the film became a hit and Katrina started getting offers for bigger films.
Katrina Kaif had reached jail to meet Salman
After the film ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’, the discussion about Salman and Katrina’s affair became common. Everyone believed that Salman was her godfather. Katrina also shared screen space with Salman in films like ‘Partner’ and ‘Yuvvraaj’. When Salman Khan was jailed in the blackbuck poaching case in 2007, Katrina, along with Alvira and Arbaaz, went to meet him.
Katrina’s picture taken outside Jodhpur Central Jail.
Some time later, she visited Ajmer Sharif Dargah. There were also reports that Salman was very possessive of Katrina.
Salman hit on the set of Ek Tha Tiger
Amidst discussions about her personal life, Katrina made a name for herself among top actresses by delivering excellent films like Welcome, Singh Is Kinng, New York, and De Dana Dan. Around this time, she got the film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani with Ranbir Kapoor. While working together, news of Katrina and Ranbir’s link-up started surfacing. Around the same time, Katrina shot Ek Tha Tiger with Salman Khan. Amidst the shooting, a report in Cineblitz magazine claimed that Salman was so enraged upon seeing Katrina wearing short clothes on the sets of Ek Tha Tiger that he publicly raised his hand on her. The news remained a topic of discussion. Some time later, Salman also clarified the matter. In Aap Ki Adalat, Salman said, “Katrina was not wearing short clothes, but the fitting of the dress was not right. That’s why I asked her to change her clothes. We were shooting the film’s last song, Mashallah, and there was no need to wear short clothes in it.”
Salman did not deny the claim of raising his hand, but rather said that sometimes PR teams themselves spread such news for publicity.
When Dhoom was released in 2013, Aamir told co-star Katrina that he wanted to see Salman-Katrina get married. On the other hand, discussions about Katrina-Ranbir’s relationship were growing. Neither of them ever confirmed nor denied it.
Private photos with Ranbir leaked
In August 2013, private pictures of Katrina and Ranbir’s secret holiday were published in Stardust magazine. Those pictures were secretly taken on the beach. When the pictures were published, Katrina was furious and called it a breach of privacy. However, the pictures confirmed their secret relationship.
Soon, Katrina and Ranbir started living together. News of their marriage intensified when Kareena, who appeared with Ranbir on Koffee With Karan, called Katrina ‘bhabhi’ (sister-in-law).
Amidst marriage rumors, Katrina and Ranbir broke up in 2016. Former journalist Pooja Samant revealed in an interview that Katrina was completely shattered after the breakup. She wanted to get married, but Ranbir was not ready. A few days after the breakup, when Pooja went to Yash Raj Studio to interview Katrina, Katrina was crying a lot there. Crying, she was saying, ‘I made a mistake, I loved him, because of him I ruined my career.’ Amidst the breakup, Katrina worked with Ranbir in Jagga Jasoos, and this film was a big flop.
Ranbir’s mother Neetu Singh had taunted
Some time after the breakup with Katrina, Ranbir’s mother Neetu Singh’s post became controversial. She posted, “Just because he dated you for 7 years doesn’t mean he will marry you. My uncle studied medicine for 6 years, he is a DJ now.”
In response, Katrina’s mother shared a post and wrote, “I was taught from childhood to treat a cleaner with as much respect as you would treat a company’s CEO.”
Found a life partner in Vicky Kaushal, know their love story
Karan Johar played a significant role in bringing Vicky and Katrina together. When Karan asked Katrina on his talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ who she would like to work with next, Katrina took Vicky’s name in response. When Karan told Vicky about this, upon hearing it, he put his hand on his heart and started ‘fainting’.
Then, in 2019, Vicky publicly proposed marriage to Katrina during the Star Screen Awards. Vicky had said, “I am a huge fan of yours, wedding season is going on, why don’t you also find a Vicky Kaushal and marry him?” After that, Vicky directly asked Katrina, “Will you marry me?” To this, the actress replied, “I don’t have the courage.”
The surprising thing was that all this was happening in the presence of Salman Khan, whose expressions were worth seeing. At that time, everyone dismissed it as fun and banter between the actor and host at an award night, but soon after, the two started appearing together on many occasions.
In 2019, both also arrived together and sat together at the IIFA Awards and Zee Cine Awards function. Vicky was spotted at Katrina’s house several times. Soon, discussions about their affair grew as they posted pictures wearing the same hoodie and with the same background.
Relationship secret revealed by one photo
Katrina had posted a picture from her social media account, in which she was seen hugging a person wearing a yellow T-shirt. The picture was so cropped that only the pocket of the T-shirt was visible. After some time, Vicky posted a picture wearing the same yellow T-shirt, but by then Katrina had deleted her photo.
The pictures soon went viral and their relationship became official. Then reports came that the couple had their Roka ceremony at director Kabir Khan’s house.
Amidst many speculations, Vicky-Katrina had a destination wedding on December 9, 2021, at the Six Senses Resort in Sawai Madhopur, which was attended by only a few close relatives.
See wedding pictures-
3 years after marriage, on November 7, 2025, Katrina gave birth to a son, who has been named Vihaan. Currently, Katrina and Vicky have not made their son’s pictures public.
Katrina Kaif was last seen with Vijay Sethupathi in the 2024 film Merry Christmas. These days, Katrina is enjoying motherhood and focusing on her beauty brand.
