'Fitoor' debacle: Why Katrina Kaif needs to pay attention to her acting skills

New Delhi: When filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor announced bringing to life Charles Dickens' classic novel ‘Great Expectations', it excited not just cine buffs but even classic readers. The announcement of Katrina Kaif in the role of Estella, the daughter of a wealthy Miss Havisham, made the project even more interesting.

Alas, nothing great came out of these expectations. All viewers were treated with was a sloppily-directed script and unimpressive acting. ‘Fitoor', which released last Friday on February 12, was promoted in all earnest by the cast. It caught everyone's attention in a way that ‘Fitoor' actually became Katrina Kaif's movie in every sense. She was the sole torchbearer in promoting the movie in all platforms she could. However, her glam quotient could not save the movie, which desperately tried to become an epic romance at the box office.

The poor collections of ‘Fitoor' in its opening weekend -- which is only Rs 14 crore – indicates that it's high time Katrina pondered upon her movie choices. Before ‘Fitoor', she starred in director Kabir Khan's ambitious movie ‘Phantom' which was another flop of the year 2015.

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Since her entry in Bollywood, Katrina Kaif has rarely been acknowledged for her acting skills. While movies like ‘Namastey London', ‘Rajneeti' and ‘Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara' established her as one of the most sought after actresses, the actress in Katrina Kaif seems to have lost the plot somewhere.

The latest example is ‘Fitoor'. While her co-actress Tabu tried her best to enliven a scene, Katrina brought it down. In ‘Phantom', Kat did no justice to her character who fought terrorism. Before ‘Phantom', she starred opposite Hrithik Roshan in ‘Bang Bang' and her work was termed as insufferable by critics.

In ‘Dhoom 3', Katrina Kaif was at the receiving end because she took up an insubstantial part. ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan', which was late Yash Chopra's last directorial, could not bring out the best out of Kat's acting either. She seemed blunt in most of her scenes, impressing neither the audience nor the critics.

Katrina's bland acting in the last few years leads one to wonder if her career in Bollywood is seeing a downfall. She is busy with two projects, ‘Jagga Jasoos' opposite Ranbir Kapoor and ‘Baar Baar Dekho' with Sidharth Malhotra, but it is unclear if these movies will repaint her image as a decent actress. Let's wait to see if Katrina is able to turn the tables, again.