Katrina Kaif’s beautiful on-screen appearance and her effortlessly fantastic dance moves have made her one of the leading and highest-paid actresses in Bollywood, with one of the largest net-worths in Indian cinema. However, very few are aware of her initial days when she couldn’t dance in films and had to endure several criticism.
Despite this, some believed in her potential, including choreographer Farah Khan and her first Telugu film director, K. Vijaya Bhaskar. Bhaskar directed the cult-classic hit film ‘Malliswari’, released in 2004, which marked Katrina’s entry into the cinematic world and became a superhit. This success led her to sign movies in Bollywood.
Katrina Kaif, who now stuns audiences with her dance moves in songs like Chikni Chameli, Ishq Shava, Kala Chashma, Sheila Ki Jawani and more, struggled with dancing during her early career. Despite this, K. Vijaya Bhaskar was adamant about casting her as the heroine in ‘Malliswari’. “Though she cannot dance, I want her as the heroine. She is fixed as Malliswari,” he insisted. This was revealed by his son, actor Sree Kamal, during a conversation with Filmyfocus. Sree Kamal also mentioned that his father is very particular about his decisions and, once satisfied, does not look for other options, no matter what.
Katrina Kaif took this seriously and worked hard on herself, eventually becoming one of the best on-screen dancers. She also trained in Kathak alongwith Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta.
For those unaware, ‘Malliswari’ was such a superhit among Telugu audiences that people started calling her by that name, unaware of her real name. The actress also stunned everyone when she charged ₹65 lakhs, making her one of the highest-paid South Indian actresses at the time, despite initially signing for ₹25 lakhs, which led the makers to go against their principles.
After this film, she starred alongside Superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna in Allari Pidugu (2005) but did not return to Tollywood afterward. Telugu audiences have been eagerly awaiting her comeback.
