Akshaye teaches Katrina

If her B-town image is taken into cognisance, Katrina Kaif seems to have taken over the ice-maiden tag from Aishwarya herself. Looking aloof most of the time, refusing to talk about her personal life and definitely not allowing the mention of a certain Mr Salman Khan. But take off a few layers and Katrina opens up.

It is her family that remains her favourite topic. “My mother lives in Chennai and I have six sisters. In fact, I’ve never felt the need to have girl friends because I’m very close to my sisters. All of us bond together like great buddies. I’m closest to my second oldest sister Christine. She is very kind and stable and has really influenced my life,” Kat says.

So, does that mean she has no really close friends in Bollywood or elsewhere? “Actually, I have made a lot of friends in Bollywood. Vipul Shah and I get on really well. Sajid Nadiadwala and David Dhawan are two friends who keep coming home and we let our hair down. Basically, I am around a lot of people who are fun to be with. I create my own equations,” she says.

Coincidentally, all these people happen to be very good friends of Salman Khan too? Kat goes all diplomatic as she says, “People have been writing about Salman and me for the past five years. There’s no issue to talk about and that is what I’ve been saying all this while.”

To emphasise that she has friends outside Salman’s inner circle, Kat adds, “On the sets of Race, Akshaye Khanna taught me how to play chess. I’m not very good at the game but I’m getting much better now. Thanks to Akshaye’s classes!”

Point taken. That means marriage is not on the cards? “I’m too young,” pat comes her reply. She adds, “I have a lot of stuff to do before I get married. I’m trying to settle my family in London. And you never know how things turn out in the long run.” Katrina also admits that she is a romantic at heart, “Everybody’s a romantic and so am I. My kind of a man is a person I can laugh with, have a good time with.”

Something that people don’t know about her is that she is hooked on to old Hindi films. “I am glued to these films, they are larger than life. Today’s cinema lacks that largeness. And those songs were different too – Helen aunty’s songs are amazing. I also watch a lot of Madhubala movies,” she says.

(Times of India)

A while ago I wondered whether playing chess was a bit dorky. Well, if you get to teach Katrina, then it's definitely not uncool. Go Akshaye!