It’s the autumn/winter fashion season in India and it continues today with the start of Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai. The week begins with a showcase special to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Barbie. In addition, Mattel have announced that a new Barbie doll would be based on Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, rubbishing earlier rumours that it would be based on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Designers including Vikram Phadnis , Wendell Rodericks , Neeta Lulla, Shantanu and Nikhil will all be participating in the Barbie – All Doll’d Up show, each having designed a special outfit based on Barbie’s first fifty years. Katrina Kaif will be taking to the runway as part of the show. “Every girl at some point of time in her childhood has played with a Barbie doll,” says Katrina, “and so have I. She makes a sweet, fun and lively companion.”

Meanwhile Katrina has been working hard on two new films – the political drama Rajniti and the romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, both of which she hopes will stretch her as an actress and both of which include Ranbir Kapoor. "This year I would like to allocate time to big films,” she explains, “The kind of films I am doing - Rajneeti and Ajab Prem... are a little more difficult. They need time and also a little more thought process."

Katrina’s other movies in her release schedule include New York with John Abraham, Irrfan Khan and Ginger Kroll; Blue with Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt; and De Dhana Dhan, also with Akshay, Sameera Reddy and Neha Dhupia.