Katrina Kaif’s old interview goes viral: ‘I was a very dark child’
In an old clip, Katrina Kaif talked about travelling to many countries during her childhood and being instilled with the thought that her skin tone is dark.
In Short
- Katrina Kaif, born in Hong Kong, pursued acting in India as she felt she 'fit' well
- In 2009 interview, Kaif shared feeling exotic or ethnic as a child
- She expressed a lack of belonging due to constant travel
Actor Katrina Kaif was born in Hong Kong to Indian father, Mohammed Kaif, and a British mother, Suzanne Turquotte. She moved to several countries during her childhood and eventually settled in London. However, the actor pursued a career in acting in India as she felt a strong connection to the country. In an old 2009 interview, which is being widely shared on the internet, Katrina shared why she believed she fit well in India.
During the interview, Katrina was asked if she felt disconnected from her Indian side due to her parents' divorce when she was young. The actor replied, "I don’t think so because, you know, it’s such a basic thing to say that’ll probably sound very stupid but you must’ve seen it enough in your friends how you have very dark children who grow up to be very fair? I was a very dark child. There was no way you would look at me and say that this is a Caucasian child. I was always known as how exotic or how ethnic.”
The 'Merry Christmas' actor expressed that she lacked a sense of belonging throughout her life due to constant travel between countries.
"By coincidence, those countries were the far east Hong Kong, China, Japan, France, very predominantly fair, white Caucasian countries. So, that instilled it in me more. Which is probably why when I came to India, maybe other people would’ve gotten afraid that, 'I’d just come to another country and landed up here'. But probably for me, it may sound filmy, I felt such a sense of belonging because I realised that it just fit somehow,” Katrina added.
Before making her acting debut, Katrina worked as a model in India, During an interview with Mashable India, she said, "When I started off as a model in Bombay, my intention was to be a model. My role models were Madhu Sapre and Lakshmi Menon. Those were the supermodels of that time. And even Malaika, actually. She was still modelling at that time. They were the women I looked up to. And that's what I wanted to be as a model."
She made her acting debut in 2003 with the film 'Boom', alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, and Gulshan Grover. However, the film was panned by critics. Eventually, the 2005 film 'Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya' brought Katrina recognition, followed by the success of 'Namastey London' in 2007.
Now, Katrina is counted among some of the most sought-after Bollywood actors. She has also married Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal.