Katrina Kaif made her screen debut in the 2003 Indian black-comedy thriller film ‘Boom’ directed by Kaizad Gustad. The film was a critical and commercial failure. In 2004, she made her Telugu film debut with the K. Vijaya Bhaskar-directed Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy ‘Malliswari.’ The film performed well at the box office and was declared a financial success. She continued to star in films like ‘Sarkar’ (2005), ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?’ (2005), ‘Humko Deewana Kar Gaye’ (2006), and ‘Balram vs. Tharadas’ (2006). In 2007, she starred as ‘Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra’ in the Indian romance film ‘Namastey London’ directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing over ₹71 crores on a budget of ₹21 crores. That same year, she also played the role of ‘Sanjana’ in the Anees Bazmee-directed Hindi-language comedy film ‘Welcome.’ The film garnered praise from critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over ₹122 crores on a budget of ₹32 crores. She was next seen in films such as ‘Race’ (2008), ‘Singh Is Kinng’ (2008), ‘New York’ (2009), ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ (2009), ‘Raajneeti’ (2010), ‘Tees Maar Khan’ (2010), ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (2011), ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ (2011), ‘Agneepath’ (2012), and ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ (2012).Â
In 2012, she portrayed ‘Meera Thapar’ in the Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ directed by Yash Chopra. The film opened to a positive reception and was a major box office success, grossing over ₹211 crores on a budget of ₹50 crores. Kaif also won 2 ‘BIG Star Entertainment Awards’ for her portrayal of Meera Thapar in the film. She next starred in films like ‘Dhoom 3’ (2013), ‘Bang Bang!’ (2014), ‘Phantom’ (2015), ‘Fitoor’ (2016), ‘Baar Baar Dekho’ (2016), ‘Jagga Jasoos’ (2017), ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ (2017), ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ (2018), ‘Zero’ (2018), and ‘Bharat’ (2019). Kaif last appeared in the 2021 Indian Hindi-language action film ‘Sooryavanshi’ directed by Rohit Shetty. The film received a mixed response from critics but managed to gross over ₹294 crores on a budget of ₹160 crores.