Here’s a classic case of role reversal. For many years, the industry has been rife with talk of how Salman Khan went out of his way to help Katrina Kaif make a place in Bollywood. But now, in an interesting twist, Kat has seemingly been instrumental in getting Salman his role in Ek Tha Tiger, his first Yash Raj Film.Confirms Salman: “To start with, it’s a fantastic film that Katrina got. And in fact, she was the one to — in a way — get me in Ek Tha Tiger. (At the start) Katrina was the one to tell Kabir (Khan; director) to come and meet me (regarding the film).” After 2008’s dud Yuvvraaj, the romantic thriller pairs the two after a gap of four years.
Ek Tha Tiger will also have him team up with Kabir — who directed Katrina in New York (2009) — for the first time. “I had watched some of Kabir’s videos when he was working on Kabul Express (2006).
At that time, he had showed me a few shots – which he had canned — on DVD. A guy named Apoorva Shah used to work with Sohail Khan Productions. And since Apoorva and Kabir are good friends, he had got Kabir home once. When I saw his work, I had realised — immediately — that he has got something in him,” says Salman.