''Salman would never disrespect me or any woman''

Jacqueline Fernandez opens up on the Kick-ed out barb, reveals that Varun Dhawan and she have adopted a monkey.

When she was a year old, Jacqueline Fernandez fell in love with Tinkerbell. She was one of the seven dogs, two cats, a turtle and many fishes Jacky grew up with. As a child, she adopted a mouse which she kept inside her doll house till her mother discovered it and ordered her to take her pet outside. Tinkerbell died when Jacky turned 21, and she's missed her first love, ever since.

"Now, Varun (Dhawan) and I are adopting a monkey. We met Coco during the shoot of Rohit Dhawan's Dishoom in Morocco. We're waiting to bring him home as soon as the formalities are completed," says Jacky, who plans to hire an army of servants to look after all the other pets she plans to bring into her home.

The actress was in Morocco for 15 days and returned on Sunday with her new bestie, Varun. "He shares my sense of humour. Last week, he took my phone and started posting random pictures on my Instagram account. When I asked him to stop, he posted a shirtless picture of himself and tagged it, 'My Varun, the best in the world. He's an angel and a voice of reason in troubled times, taught me so much!'" Jacky guffaws.

Buzz is, she's dating Arjun Kapoor. The query is greeted with peals of laughter, "That's absurd and Arjun will agree! I giggle when people hook us up."

She continues to giggle when asked about why Salman Khan said at a function in Dubai that he has Kick-ed her out of the sequel of their action thriller. "I find it funny when people say that we're 'cut off'. Salman would never disrespect me or any woman. Even if he did say that he had Kick-ed me out of Kick 2, it wasn't meant to hurt me. Casting is his decision, he doesn't owe me anything. Our relationship goes beyond professional commitments," she asserts.

Apparently, he made amends by replacing Parineeti Chopra with her in his next home production, Jugalbandi, featuring Saif Ali Khan. "Jugalbandi is an interesting film but Salman's the best person to answer this question," she says cagily. "All I can say is that I'll always be there for him, now and forever."

Jacky has also been bonding majorly with Sonam Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. "Girls can be friends too," she points out. "Sonam is fun to talk to and I look up to Priyanka. Actresses are gradually warming up to me as I stay clear of any gossip and don't judge. Instead, I make a conscious effort to stay happy," she smiles sunnily.

Jacky is eagerly waiting for the release of Karan Anshuman's directorial debut, Bangistan, with Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat. She plays Rosie, the owner of a cafe in Poland, who takes the boys on a tour of the city. "Rosie is energetic and lively," she says. "Riteish knows when to crack a joke, where to draw the line and how to snap in and out of his role. And Pulkit is shy," she quips.

The 29-year-old actress, who owns a high-end restaurant in Colombo, is planning to open a branch in Mumbai and bring Sri Lankan cuisine to the city. "I enjoy making business investments and my Bollywood career has given me the means to do so. Opening another restaurant, launching a clothing line and turning producer are my goals for next year," she says.