The industry always opens its doors for hard working people, says Jacqueline

Miss Universe Sri Lanka winner Jacqueline Fernandez marked her acting debut in the Hindi film industry with Sujay Ghosh’s Aladin (2009). Despite having no film background and not knowing anybody in the industry, she went on to bag some big banner projects and soon became a popular name. A while ago, she opened up about how she was suggested to get a nose job done and change her name to a more oriental one. Eleven years later, she looks back and says that it has been a rather “great” journey for her.

Ask her about the industry being more accepting of her now and she says assertively, “Though I don’t think there was ever really a sense of not belonging in the Hindi film industry, there’s definitely a greater sense of inclusivity now, which is great. The industry always opens its doors for hard working and passionate people who push the boundaries. It really is just that. And, it has been that way for me throughout my career.”

Four years ago, she branched out and featured in a music video titled GF BF. Her second music video with TSeries, Mere Angne Mein composed by Tanishk Bagchi, dropped recently. Talking about how it helped her explore a different side to herself, Fernandez says, “It is the first time that I worked with (directors) Vinay (Sapru) and Radhika (Rao), and they gave me a completely different look and a character that I could only dream about playing. It’s something that I had never done before, and so, it was really exciting — the get up, the costumes, the sets and the dancing. Learning the mannerisms of the character that I played in it was amazing.”

The song, sung by Neha Kakkar and Raja Hasan, stars reality TV celeb Asim Riaz, and celebrates a story of eternal love and the festive spirit that India has had over centuries. The Housefull 3 (2016) actor says that doing a music video isn’t very different from doing a film.

“We do a lot of song and dance in our films. Doing a music video which appeals to you is an exciting project to take on. Everything about this project — working with Bhushan (Kumar) who delivers the best songs and creatives — felt like it’s an amazing project to be part of and that’s why I took it on,” she explains.

The actor, who was last seen in the digital film, Drive (2019) hasn’t been seen on the big screen for about two years now after doing Race 3 in 2018. In the meanwhile, she had been shooting for a web film, Mrs Serial Killer. She says that she never thought that foraying into the digital space is a step down from movies. “I’m an avid OTT audience myself and so, it’s only natural for me to be able to extend that. I genuinely feel that it is the future and pretty soon everyone’s going to be moving into OTT,” she signs off.

I’m an avid OTT audience, and so, it’s only natural for me to be able to extend that. I genuinely feel that it is the future and pretty soon everyone’s going to be moving into OTT. JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ, ACTOR