Kuch to hai.

L.K that’s my name for Lucky Katrina, who is exempted from the rigors of recession and  no-show. She is the Hema Malini of the current generation.

Call her Lady Luck, Katrina continues to rock the box office as though there’s no tomorrow. Just compare her box office performance with all her contemporaries without naming them (I don’t want the temperamental divas coming down me like a ton of bricks) and you’ll see what I mean. Whatever this sparkling girl touches turns into gold.

Fading superstars with falling fortunes and receding hairlines pleaded to get lucky Malini into their projects. Though she had less than cordial experiences with Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna in  her earlier films, she agreed to star in their purported comeback films ‘Premnagar’ and ‘Sanyasi’, respectively.

I’d like  to think the films clicked because of Hema Malini’s positive attitude to life. She never holds grudges, and neither does Katrina. While Hema is far more blunt in her words and gestures (she had  noisily left the premiere of Sanjay Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ at the glorious climax with daughter Esha, simply because they needed to find their car) Katrina is equally fearless about  being truthful.

She’s far more of a go-getter than Hema, though. I remember the first time Katrina ever spoke to  me was when she called to introduce herself and say hello…just like that some years ago. It took a while for us to get comfortable with one another mainly because I don’t see eye to eye with the guy she was seeing.

I’d hear stories of her dignified defiance against Salman Khan’s autocratic ways even before I got to know her. Here’s a classic Katrina story from her Salman days. Salman was one day sitting with a very close director-friend when she sauntered into the room in a pair of jeans and a skimpy top announcing that she was  going out. Salman mildly objected to the  top. Katrina went inside and came out wearing a skimpier top.

Kuch bhi bolo, Salman did a lot for this girl. He took her to meet his pal Sanjay Leela Bhansali and asked him to cast her as Mastani in the proposed costume drama ‘Bajirao Mastani’. He  made sure she remained cocooned from the murky side of showbiz.

But she never allowed him to dominate her life. I remember the first time I met Salman he was very keen that I meet his new lady-love. He kept calling her asking her to join us. She didn’t.

Katrina follows her heart. But she never forgets to let her practical side get a headstart. When you meet her she appears to be aloof, almost withdrawn.

Then  you realize, the vulnerable do need  to  fortify themselves from the  strong winds that threaten to rain on and destroy their paradise.

Hema Malini is much stronger. She can take the lashing winds on her chin.

No.

Katrina doesn’t have the enchanting aura of Hema. But they’re both blessed with an inner beauty  that manifests itself outward in their day-to-day conduct. And they carry themselves with great dignity and self-regard. You won’t find the lechers and louts of  the film industry messing  about with either Hema or Katrina. And it’s not because Dharmendra and Salman are hovering around protectively. It’s  that don’t-mess-with-me attitude which separated a Raakhee Gulzar from a Moushumi Chatterjee,

In the short time that I’ve known her I’ve realized that the strong streak of success that has come to Katrina is because she deserves it. She is a caring, gentle soul. She’s also a lonely soul. I’ve caught Hemaji and Katrina in their most depressed moments when all they want is a strong guy to go home to.

Not everyone is as lucky as Bipasha, Kareena and Aishwarya. Some of the most beautiful  women in the world are the loneliest. In fact the more the beautiful, the lonelier. Check the lambi luscious list from Madhubala and Meena Kumari to Asha Parekh, Sushmita Sen and Katrina. They’re all mistresses of solitude.

Ranbir thinks it’s insulting to call LK a ‘Lucky Mascot’. I think it’s a great compliment in today’s day and age when success generates solitude.

Katrina is lucky for everyone around her. But is she lucky for herself? That we’ll only know when she hits the magical 40. If the there’s a guy next to at her 40th birthday party then baby, it’s truly party-time for Katrina.