Katrina Kaif on love: 'Nobody else is responsible for your happiness'

Katrina Kaif once said the biggest lesson her relationships taught her was a simple one: "Nobody else is responsible for your happiness."

The actor said this on Koffee with Karan Season 6, talking to host Karan Johar at a time when she was single. She recalled a talk with a few friends who felt most women need a man, and she said she did not agree. "I can't speak for women as a collective, but it's definitely not true for me being single," she said.

Katrina admitted she had not always felt at ease with herself. For a large part of her life, she explained, she judged her own worth by how much love and attention she got from a partner. When the relationship was going well she felt great, and when it struggled, her self-esteem suffered too.

Handing that power to someone else, in her view, puts a burden on them that no one can carry for long. "At some point they are going to let you down, or you let them down, and that's when the relationship suffers," she said.

Her idea of the best kind of bond has no room for dependence. "The most beautiful kind of love is when neither of you need each other," she said, describing love built on admiration, respect, companionship and a space of ease between two people.

She is now married to actor Vicky Kaushal, and the couple have a son, Vihaan.