It has taken the lissome cosmopolitan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez (she is half Sri Lankan and half Malaysian) over five years to get instant recall. Earlier her biggest claim to fame was the catchy 'Dhanno' song and her relationship with Sajid Khan, the filmmaker. This year, though, fate is in her favour.
With a Salman Khan and a Ranbir Kapoor film in her kitty, Jacqueline talks about shooting in Warsaw with Bhai', learning Hindi as diligently as she does Yoga, and why she thinks admiring her contemporary heroines is a lot better than bitching about them!
Pinkvilla caught up with the actress for an exclusive chat. Read on...
It's a promising year forward, with 'Kick' on the floors with Salman Khan & a few more films line up. Tell me about 'Kick'.
It has been an amazing year for me, being in a film like 'Kick' has already done wonders for my career graph and also to my confidence. I have been shooting for the film since December. And I never, ever, in my wildest dreams, thought I would work with Salman Khan! It's been unreal, I never thought I would get to act with him. For me this has been a learning experience that way, I always thought that Salman Khan - Superstar! Really, what more does he need to do, I mean he has everything! But Salman actually is very hard working, is totally dedicated and works round the clock. So that's the learning bit plus also working with Sajid Nadiadwala. I have worked with him in the past before, as a producer, and I share a good equation with him.
So that's about the hard work part. Since you have just returned from a long schedule in Warsaw, Poland, a historic city, tell us about what else did you do? How did the crew spend its time? It's a beautiful and historic city.
It was absolutely great, and we had Randeep Hooda there too, plus an international crew for the action sequences. The boys did some amazing action there, which I got to witness. We shot a part of the film's climax, and most of my scenes were romantic ones.
There's something very exciting about working in a film like 'Kick', the positive energy and buzz on set is inspiring. All of us, including my team, wants to do their best, give our 100 per cent, work out, feel fit and learn our lines. And the effort began with my spot boy!(laughs) while giving me my tea and my water, when he would rehearse his lines he would tell me madam phir se bolo'! He would give me feedback, and correct my dialogue, and I would be like Okay I get it! Now let me be!' It all came together well.
Warsaw is beautiful! We bicycled around the entire city, the crew and us, and Salman is really into fitness so we took long walks, visited museums. It's a traditional European city, time passes by very slowly and it is very quiet. So it was lovely, you don't feel like you are at work. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and actually, I felt a little bittersweet coming back home.
I will be going back to Krakow and Poland to shoot Bangistan' the comedy with Ritesh and Pulkit.
About 'Roy', the film has gone through changes and delays. Where does it stand now?
We start shooting on the 15th of this month, we continue in August & September in South Africa. It's a really interesting project for me, I actually signed 'Roy' before 'Kick'. A lot of things were undecided, the cast, the characters, the release dates. Now the script has evolved on to something quite spectacular, my role began as one and has evolved into a double role. The story is grey in bits, so it's quite challenging and to me, it offers a chance to build two totally different characters and add certain characteristics. Right now, I am sitting with the director and discussing how to distinguish the characters as two different people- mannerisms, body language. I have never done something before, so that's pretty cool!
While this has been a busy time, there was a hiatus for some years, between 2011 and now. What happened?
I don't know, I think it was bad timing. When 'Aladin' released, my first two films didn't do very well. And then the whole world into an economic crisis! And no movies were being made! Filmmakers and producers picked reliable stars. So it was all poor timing. And I was seen as this foreign girl, not too many producers wanted to take a risk with that. But that is over for now.
Being a foreigner shouldn't be a problem in Bollywood. Have you learnt Hindi though? Made an effort to pick up the language?
Definitely! I never used to take it seriously before. When I first came in, I took it up with enthusiasm that this is fun, let me do this! A little later, I had begun to feel that I just need to memorise a few lines and deliver them on the sets and worked like that. Then I started to feel that this is very uncommitted of me, and it's just not right. To do Hindi films, why would I just come here and not learn the language, and not giving it my 100 per cent. So I woke up last year - after signing 'Kick' and getting this amazing opportunity, I felt, you know what am I doing? It's time to take this seriously, and give it my hundred per cent. So I decided to pull up my socks, and not waste even a second and give learning the language a 100 per cent.
I am trying to learn through audio tools, I have chapters of hindi poems and scripts and listen to them while I work out, and travel. I also keep listening to my scripts and hear them over and over again. Learning a language is one thing, and getting the right stress points and points of emphasis is very crucial to acting. So I get someone to record the dialogues and script, and then listen to them multiple times so that I get tone and emphasis right. So I am starting to get there.
Meat Roles and Kangana
I like a mix, I want to be a part of big commercial movies because they are great for exposure. As an actor, you do want to look at your portfolio and go,' Oh My God, I was part of these huge, memorable hits!' I also think you want to look back and be remembered that I was recognised for this film'. As an actor you have so much to play with. Even if you want to say you want to do just meaty roles, is also restricting, same as saying, I just want to do commercial films. Actors should not have any restrictions, and their world is about experimenting and growing. I think that's the beauty of the job.
Any contemporary actresses that you look up to?
I look at each one of them and find them inspiring! For one, Katrina, whose background was similar to mine. Then I look at Deepika, who I worked with in 'Race 2', and then I see her range and her focus, and I go, WOW! It scares me but I think that's what you need to be, and how you need to be, to really get where you want. I also look at Kangana who has not taken the conventional route and still achieved what they wanted to achieve. I Don't find them competition, and I am very inspired by actresses.
At times, you do feel like Oh I wish, I had done that role!' and it's natural, for we are competing. But I have begun to flip it. In the beginning, I was as bitchy as anyone else, trying to find fault and continuously talk negative about your contemporaries. I have managed to flip that, by thinking,' I've got to admire those who have gotten there.' As human beings we have a tendency to pull someone down the minute someone has achieved something. But I think we need to overcome that, and I have learnt to deal with such negativity, by following in their footsteps and actually be inspired by them.
Sajid Khan, your ex -boyfriend is now reportedly dating Esha Gupta, and she reportedly replaced you in 'Humshakals'. Are you okay with his new relationship status?
Ummm...(hesitates with a smile). My relationship with Sajid is now in the past. It's a very new and important chapter for me professionally, and I want to just keep moving ahead. I don't want to dwell on anything that happened. Everyone moves on, and everyone seems to be in a good space. And that's good news for all.
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