Katrina Kaif mauled during Kolkata show
Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—The security of celebrities is becoming an increasing source of concern in the film industry. While Celina Jaitley is still recovering from a drug addict’s attack in Mauritius a couple of months ago, and Rashmi Nigam was recently saved from a stalker by Arshad Warsi and Sunil Shetty, last week saw Salman Khan’s girlfriend, actress Katrina Kaif attacked by a Kolkata mob while doing a show there.
Nightmarish experience
The incident, says Katrina, still gives her nightmares. “I had gone to attend the Saptami Danditya event in Kolkata on October 10. After the event was over and I was leaving the stage, all hell broke loose and the crowd overpowered the security personnel and started grabbing and touching me. They just wouldn’t let go! Ugh! It was an extremely unpleasant and humiliating situation and I didn’t know what to do and where to go,” she breaks off, shuddering.
Didn’t anyone help her? “Not really, but then in such a situation, nobody can do anything. When crowds decide to get wild and aggressive, there is nothing 10 or 15 security guards can do. Then the police came, split up the crowd and got things under control.”
Is this the first time such an incident has happened to her? “It has happened a couple of times before in other places; it’s quite frightening at times, when the crowd goes berserk, but this was the first time they grabbed and touched me.”
Bodyguard time?
Will the actress hire a bodyguard now? “I don’t think so. That’s a matter of opinion and differs from every individual’s point of view. But yes, when celebrities attend events in public places, the security should be tighter.”
Career up
But things are looking perky for the actress on the career front. She has recently finished shooting for Raj Kanwar’s Hum Ko Deewane Kar Gaye, with Akshay Kumar, and signed Anil Sharma’s Apne, opposite Bobby Deol.
“It’s a meaningful film and deals with conflict within the family; I am looking forward to it. Besides that, I am doing a film with Priyadarshan and a couple of good projects, which I will talk about when the time comes,” says Katrina.