Merry Christmas’ one of most gratifying moments of my career: Katrina Kaif

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) Working with Sriram Raghavan has been one of the most gratifying moments of her career, says Katrina Kaif who approached the director with the belief that he would bring out a different side of her as a performer in “Merry Christmas” that is getting her some of her best reviews ever.

The movie, a thriller with elements of dark humour, drama, romance and a bit of Christmas magic, is the latest from the filmmaker, known for thrillers such as “Ek Hasina Thi”, “Johnny Gaddar”, “Badlapur” and “Andhadhun”.

Katrina said she reached out to Raghavan with a wish to be a part of his cinematic world as she had been a fan for the longest time.

“I’m a big fan of Sriram’s work because I love the quirky kind of genre that his films are in. I also feel there’s something in all of his characters on screen, which is very real, honest and visceral,” the actor told PTI.

“His characters are as flawed as they can be and yet they will still be relatable because of some incredible humane quality that they have, which is why I wanted to work with him. I wanted to have that experience to be under his vision and his process. I believed that he will bring out a different side of me as a performer,” she added.

Katrina, who plays the mysterious Maria in the film, is paired opposite South superstar Vijay Sethupathi. He is Albert, a stranger that her character Maria meets in a restaurant and brings home on Christmas Eve.

“Merry Christmas” marks an important moment in Katrina’s career, peppered with commercial successes like “Namastey London”, “Welcome”, “Race”, “New York”, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”, “Tiger” franchise and “Bharat”.

But “Merry Christmas” stands out.

“It’s been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career so far. And working with Sriram and the story was, I think, a very important moment for me,” she said.

When she signed the movie, she chose not to focus on how the movie would perform at the box office.

“I always try to focus on what I’m doing because if I look for the end, then I get lost. My energy is diverted and I cannot focus and concentrate on what I’m doing at the present. So when the film came to me, I loved this story and instantly connected to it.”

The actor said she read the source book, author Frederic Dard’s famous French novel “Le Monte-charge”, which also inspired the 1962 film “Paris Pick-up”, and instantly fell in love with the story.

“I literally read it three times back to back over the space of two nights. It is a very short book but it was beautiful, poignant and so poetic. I would kind of design the whole movie in my head and I think that can happen when you’re reading a book because there are no visuals.

“So your mind starts making its own visuals and I was immediately very connected for some reason to this material.”

Playing the role of Maria, a young mother battling her inner demons, turned out to be one of the most challenging and intense processes for her for two reasons, she said.

“One is I think the story of the film demanded it. It’s a layered story and for a long portion of the film, you’re portraying something which is not what you were feeling. It’s almost like a front you’re putting on but at the same time, despite the front, there has to be some sort of emotion beneath that.

“It can’t be flat completely because a human being could never let go of what was in her mind at that time. It’s not possible. You have to retain that on a certain level and then just go through the emotional beats that the story and the journey goes on. I think it was intense. It was a very intense experience.”

With “Merry Christmas”, there was an added learning for Katrina as Raghavan, a maverick director with his unique storytelling style, would often surprise the actor.

“Sriram is a kind of a director who will very often and frequently change things on the spot. He just feels something and then takes it in a different direction. So that you have to be very open, you have to say yes.

” you have to allow a lot more flexibility and openness, kind of just really being true and present in the moment to allow that fluidity to work for us.”

A key scene in the film sees Katrina and Vijay dancing in a room to a vintage song. It is a sequence about two people letting go of their inhibitions and enjoying the moment. The dance has been praised by critics as one of the standout moments in the movie.

For Katrina, the scene symbolises the themes of release of pent up anger and also about breaking the shackles.

“It was an expression of all the frustration that she had been feeling and all this pent up emotion were finally let loose because when you see the whole film, you understand that just before that dance moment, a huge moment has occurred in her life, which people come to know about only later.

“For me, it was a release of nervous energy… It was kind of being let go because now in a way she was free. So it had to be nervous and awkward, quirky, completely thoughtless and have to have abandon.”

Katrina said her way of approaching a character has undergone a change in recent years as she now tries to find a “deeper connection” to her roles.

“For me, it was about creating a very real world to each and every moment before the scene and after the scene. What must have brought her to that scene? It was really about creating the inner world and inner dialogue. And this is what I’ve applied to quite a few films now.

“And for me, it worked and gave me a deeper connection to the material. It’s also allowed me to express myself a lot through my work and find some form of self expression,” she added.

In her professional life, Katrina said she has always picked up projects when she felt an authentic vibe to them. And post “Merry Christmas”, the actor will be sticking to the thought process.