Phantom is an action thriller set against the backdrop of 26/11. Kabir Khan has cast Katrina in such a tough, non-glamorous environment.
Kabir started as a documentary filmmaker in many confront zones (be it Afghanistan, Bosnia, Israel and such), during which time he interacted with a lot of aid workers and journalists.
He saw that intelligence agencies tend to recruit people from such aid agencies as one, they tend to get visas easier and two, they usually get access to areas which many a time others don’t get access to. So he decided to model her character in Phantom based on these aid workers.
Her character is London based who has spent time all over the world. He wanted a certain international feel to her character and therefore, based on her physicality and persona, she fit the role perfectly. She is playing a Parsi girl, part of an international aid network, who gets recruited in the mission to avenge Mumbai and bring retribution for 26/11.