Kaif says that her mother decided to "dedicate her life to social causes", which led to the family's relocation to a number of countries for varying lengths of time:
Our transitions in growing up were—from Hong Kong where I was born, to China, then to Japan, and from Japan by boat to France ... After France, Switzerland—and I'm cutting out many East European countries where we were for only a few months each—then Poland in Kraków ... After that we went to Belgium, then to Hawaii, which was a short time, and then came to London.[8]Due to their frequent relocation, Kaif and her siblings were home-schooled by a series of tutors.[9] Although she is thought to have grown up in London, she lived there for only three years before moving to India.[8] According to Kaif, she then changed her surname to her father's because she thought it would be easier to pronounce.[10] Kaif once stated in an online interview that she always wear a Ta'wiz.[11][12][13]
Kaif's paternal parentage has been questioned by some members of the film industry.[1] In a 2011 interview with Mumbai Mirror, Boom producer Ayesha Shroff accused Kaif of fabricating her history: "We created an identity for her. She was this pretty young English girl, and we gave her the Kashmiri father and thought of calling her Katrina Kazi. We thought we'd give her some kind of Indian ancestry, to connect with the audience ... But then we thought that Kazi sounded too ... religious? ... Mohammad Kaif was at the top, and so we said, Katrina Kaif sounds really great".[5] Kaif called Shroff's comments "hurtful".[1]
Career
Modelling and film debut (to 2003)
At the age of fourteen, Kaif won a beauty contest in Hawaii, and received her first modelling assignment in a jewellery campaign.[14] She subsequently modelled professionally in London, working for freelance agencies and appearing regularly at London Fashion Week.[1] At a fashion show Kaif attracted the attention of London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad. He selected her for a role in the English-Hindi erotic heist film Boom as part of an ensemble cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Gulshan Grover, Jackie Shroff, Madhu Sapre and Padma Lakshmi.[15][16] While filming in India, Kaif received other offers and decided to stay in the country.[17] In 2003, she received notice as a model after walking the ramp for Rohit Bal at the India Fashion Week[18] and appeared in the first Kingfisher Calendar.[19] Kaif soon established a successful modelling career in India after endorsing brands such as Coca-Cola, LG, Fevicol and Samsung.[20]Kaif's successful career as a model led to anticipation surrounding her Bollywood debut.[16] Boom (2003) had its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and was heavily promoted at the event.[21][22] Boom was a commercial and critical failure.[23][24] Kaif's enactment of a supermodel ensnared in the Mumbai underworld was poorly received, with Ziya U. Salam of The Hindu attributing the weak performances of the film's leading ladies to "the vacuity of their expressions".[25] Hindustan Times reported that after Boom 's release, Kaif was written off due to her poor Hindi and thick British accent.[26] She later dismissed the film: "I don't count Boom among important happenings in my life. When I signed this film, I didn't know much about India and its film audience".[27] Although Kaif was offered a number of modelling assignments,[27] filmmakers were hesitant to cast her because of her poor command of Hindi.[28] In one instance, Mahesh Bhatt replaced her with Tara Sharma in Saaya (2003) as he found her an "inconsistent performer".[29] Subsequently, Kaif began working on her diction through Hindi classes.[27]
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