Hold on to any speculations that you may have around Katrina Kaif’s role in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ or around her on-screen romantic rendezvous with Salman Khan in this Yash Raj offering. That’s because director Kabir Khan is making sure that it is neither routine, nor predictable affair. Also, he is not allowing himself to be lured by the fact that he has managed the casting coup of the decade by bringing Salman and Katrina together for his film when the world would have thought that the duo would never be seen next to each other after their alleged break up last year.

“It’s the character that demanded Katrina to be playing that role rather than the fact that she is a huge star today,” says Kabir who earlier presented a career defining role to Katrina with ‘New York’, “She showed such good maturity in ‘New York’; her act was superb there. For ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ I knew that she had to be the leading lady. That she has grown in stature over a period of time is only the icing on the cake. Having said that, it's rudimentary though because I would have roped her in for the film in any case. I had to work with her again.”

Quiz him that her pairing with Salman has resulted in all around frenzy and he smiles while nodding in the affirmative.

“They look great together and their chemistry will show on screen”, says Kabir, “However let me also add that she is not an ornament in the film. She is there because the film demands her presence. Though Salman is the central protagonist here, Katrina too has a big role. It is a kick-a$$ character that she is getting to play in the film.”

Though one may sense that he is getting a little carried away in appreciation of his leading lady, Kabir also goes on to add that for his international thriller set across various countries ‘there wouldn’t have been any actress better than Katrina to play this role’.

Well, given the kind of weight Katrina seems to be carrying in the film, guess the title could well be revised as ‘Ek Tha Tiger, Ek Thi Billi…oops Kat’!