Happiness has eluded her at least on two earlier occasions. Once, when her relationship with Salman Khan went bust and the second time, when her affair with Ranbir Kapoor ended on a sour note. However, the Katrina Kaif who TOI caught up with on Friday evening was far more calm and collected than she has ever been before. Does it have anything to do with her current tag of reigning box office queen, as given by trade pundits?

Kat (as she is fondly called) coolly said, "My last film, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan released eleven months ago. I am happy with the pace I am working at. Earlier, I had less to fear (read: lose) but I felt more frightened. It will be so unlike me if I get interested in what others are doing. But yes, if someone wants to stand on a public platform and declare themselves in any position, I find it odd."

The actress has changed and how! There are rumours, Ranbir is back in her life, we quiz her but she claims, "I am very much single." Even when we prod her about the possibility of getting romantically involved with Salman once again during the one-and-a-half year of shooting closely with the actor, she replies without batting an eyelid, "We were working in the film. Salman is a great friend and a co-star."

What about those one or two occasions after parting ways when Salman had literally brought her to tears? One during rehearsals for some awards ceremony and the other during an episode of Bigg Boss 4. Kat replies, "Salman has changed in many ways but in one respect, he is still the same. He still loves to pull people's legs. That's a personality trait. Otherwise, Salman is the happiest person to see me doing well in my career."

But he did get argumentative about Kat's dress during the shoot of Ek Tha Tiger? To which, she simply says, "Salman has this approach with every heroine. He is comfortable working with his heroines dressed in a particular way. This has been the case ever since Maine Pyaar Kiya days."

But wouldn't many girls find such behaviour overbearing? "I am definitely not one of them," she shoots back. Reportedly, Kat had nursed Salman when he was once again suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia during the early days of the film's shoot. "If someone is sick and you are not being considerate, that makes you a horrible person," she says. The conversation veers towards Salman's arch rival Shah Rukh Khan, with whom she is paired in Yash Chopra's next as director. "I have learnt a lot from Shah Rukh," she says and adds, "Especially the way he holds his gaze and approaches his dialogues."

We couldn't cannot sign off without asking her about her film which is days away from release. "Kabir Khan makes films from the heart. He and I are very good friends. There is so much positivity and comfort on his set. Ek Tha Tiger was not an exception. And it's a different film. Salman has not been in this space before since the longest time. As for my role, I play Zoya, who is a college student in Ireland. She meets Salman, whom she finds very funny because he comes across as uncomfortable with the girls," she says. The same can't be said of Salman in real life, we guess. Isn't it Kat?