Katrina Kaif will play Sridevi's character in Sajid Khan's remake of the 1983 blockbuster Himmatwala opposite Ajay Devgn, who steps into Jumping Jack Jeetendra's shoes. Sajid will start pre- production work on the film as soon as his multi- starrer Housefull 2 releases on April 5. The movie will be Katrina's first with Devgn.

"Katrina has been Sajid's first choice for the Himmatwala remake ever since he decided to make it. He is a big fan of Sridevi and wants to reinvent the pop cinema culture of that era according to current tastes," an industry source said. Although Katrina has never worked with Sajid, she starred in his sister Farah Khan's previous release, Tees Maar Khan. The sultry Chikni Chameli actor is known to be an ardent fan of the sibling duo.

While Katrina has indicated she would love to re- interpret Sridevi's character in a modern set- up, the challenge for Sajid will be to work out her dates. At the moment, she is busy with plum assignments opposite all the three Khans. Her first release this year will be Ek Tha Tiger - the Salman Khan romantic action thriller that is set to hit the theatres around Eid in August this year.

Come Diwali, it will be time for the release of Yash Chopra's yetuntitled directorial comeback with Shah Rukh Khan. While these two films are at advanced stages of production, Katrina will start filming Dhoom 3 opposite Aamir Khan after Diwali. "Katrina is super busy, the reason why she had to let go of an offer to work with Rajinikanth in Kochadaiyaan. However, essaying Sridevi's blockbuster role in Himmatwala is something that she will look forward to," the source said.

The 1983 original had catapulted Sridevi to instant stardom and she was flooded with offers soon after its release. Katrina will basically reprise Sridevi's character of Rekha, the spoilt daughter of a corrupt village landlord whose life changes when she falls in love with the idealist hero. The original Himmatwala was also a remake - of the Telugu film Ooriki Monagadu. Katrina, meanwhile, is preparing to get in shape for some daredevil stunts in Dhoom 3.