Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in Bharat promotions
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in Bharat promotions.Instagram

Bollywood superstar recently claimed that actress Katrina Kaif will go on to win the National Award for her acting in their film Bharat. The National Film Award is the highest film award presented by the government and is a prestigious recognition. Katrina Kaif plays Kumud Raina in Bharat, a character in the 1970s who is a strong woman in the male-dominated era. She is an employment officer who goes on to marry Bharat, which is Salman Khan's character.

So, what is it about her enactment of the role of Kumud Raina that made Salman Khan say that she deserves a National Award? The role was earlier supposed to have been played by Priyanka Chopra, who quit the film because she was getting married to Nick Jonas. Katrina Kaif was brought in the nick of time and grabbed the opportunity to essay such an author-backed role.

International Business Times, India quizzed Katrina Kaif about Salman Khan's remark on her winning the National Award for Bharat. Katrina took to it very humbly and spoke about her role in Bharat. Here is what she told us:

Katrina Kaif on the sets of Bharat as Kumud Raina
Katrina Kaif on the sets of Bharat as Kumud Raina.Instagram

"See, jab Salman baat karte hain toh he talks with a lot of flair, fun and humour. The National Award win impossible for anyone to know. Yeh audience reaction kya hoga, award milega, nahin milega - we don't know these things right now. Yeh acchi baat hai if Salman has said that (about me). What Salman says is sometimes in jest and sometimes it stems from some sense of truth in it. He gave me this comment also when we were on set. He appreciated what I was doing in Bharat."

"That's nice because I genuinely have given everything to this role. I know you will say that every actor gives everything to every role. But sometimes you find something which allows you and you find a space, and also sometimes you are in that right frame of mind to really go a little deeper to who this person (the character) is. Sometimes it also really resonates with you. It was just the process that I tried to make it very personal for me. I tried to make Kumud a very real person, really filling in all the layers. I think Salman appreciated that, is what he means by that statement. He can see that as an actor what his co-star is doing," Katrina went on to explain.

With so much appreciation coming Katrina's way already, and especially for a role that was to be done by Priyanka Chopra earlier, we are surely looking forward to seeing her in Bharat!