Katrina Kaif points out the key difference between working with Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar: ‘Akshay is a morning person but Salman…’

Katrina Kaif revealed that while Salman Khan is a little moody, Akshay Kumar likes to improvise on set.

Katrina Kaif has been in the movies for over 20 years now and for a large part of her career, she has worked with Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan. In a recent interview, Katrina revealed the biggest differences in working with Salman and Akshay. Katrina and Salman have worked together in films like Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya? (2005), Partner (2007), Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Bharat (2019), Tiger 3 (2023) among others. Katrina and Akshay have starred together in films like Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006), Namaste London (2007), Singh Is Kind (2008), De Dana Dan (2009), and Sooryavanshi (2021).

When Katrina was asked how different is the experience working with Salman, who is known for his non-punctuality, vs working with Akshay, who starts his day at the crack of dawn, Katrina said that managing time is a the “real part.”

She shared with Mid-day, “Yes, you hit the nail on the head, Akshay Kumar is a morning person. So our conversations are like, ‘Akshay, tomorrow let’s do a late call time, I don’t wake up at 6 in the morning’. On the other side, it would be like, ‘Salman, come a little early please, don’t come so late also, just just thoda jaldi aanaa (come a little early) please.”

Speaking about the different process of these two actors, Katrina said that they are both “phenomenal artistes” as it is not possible to survive in the movie business for over three decades otherwise. “As an actor, on set, of course he (Salman) has his moods, as well all know, Salman can be a very honest person that way, but he actually thinks a lot. He sees things from the perspective of the story, he is following the whole story. Sometimes as an actor when you come on set, it is all about the scene, and it is fantastic and it is great, but he’ll usually still be remembering the entire story, the entire arc of the film. He is very very conscious of how the overall story is, according to him, turning out,” she said.

Opening up about how Akshay likes to improvise, Katrina said, “Akshay is a very different person. He covers the story but he improvises a lot. He comes on set with the way he sees the scene and then we’ll discuss it and he’ll see what you are doing and we’ll play around in that space. They are just different as people. They are incredibly different. For me it’s difficult (to describe).”

Katrina said that even though the actors have different ways of working, she doesn’t have the burden to match up to their energy. In fact, she added, that she comes prepared for herself. “No, I am not focused on what my co-actor is doing. I’ll respond to what my co-actor is doing. I am not concerned (with) what he is doing and now I have to match it. See, especially in the last few years I, it gives me a lot of confidence and I enjoy my work a lot more when I come from a very prepared place,” she said.

She said that despite her preparation, her ideas for her performance are not very fixed so she can change as per the scene’s demands. “I come with that preparation but I am not locked to the way I want to do a scene. If it is not working for the director, I don’t hold on to how I fixed it, incorporate whatever he says, what an experienced co-star or any co-star says ‘this is the way I see the scene’, and then I’ll integrate that with what I have already prepared. So I am not coming on set dependent on what the other is doing. Everything is about give and take but I have already come prepared about what I feel about the scene,” she said.