MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has proved to be Katrina Kaif’s Santa Claus. Every year, unfailingly if possible, she likes to be home in London with her family for Christmas and New Year’s.

This year Katrina was supposed to be shooting for ‘Dhoom 3’ right in the middle of the closing months of 2012, thereby eliminating the possibility of the annual ritual.

But now with Aamir shooting for ‘Dhoom 3’ only at the end of January or the beginning of February 2013 Katrina can go home. Not only that, Katrina also has the time to squeeze in a couple of live performances at the popular awards in January 2013.

Says a friend of Katrina, “She thought she would have to miss her family get-together at Christmas and New Year’s. But she’s getting the time now. She had also said no to the stage performances at the popular awards which she thought she’s never be able to do with he tight schedules. But now she has the time to rehearse and since she is being offered big money—close to Rs 2.5 crores for the Zee awards alone – she might as well take up the offers.”

And she has only ‘Santa Aamir’ to thank for it.

Now if only she had been forewarned of the year-end schedule cancellations for ‘Dhoom 3’, she would have been able to accommodate Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Ram Leela’ into her date diaries.

Katrina came ‘this’ close to signing on for the Bhansali opus. But the dates clashed with ‘Dhoom 3’.

Hope Deepika Padukone remembers to send a New Year gift to Katrina.