Cover story: The Marvellous Ms Jacqueliene Fernandez!

When we met at the photoshoot, Jacqueliene Fernandez came across as a bundle of energy. She was full of ideas, merging from one change to another, quickly going through all the wardrobe options her stylist had got for her. Everyone present there was maha impressed by her joie de vivre. She’s always been known for her glam-doll roles but there’s more to her than just eye candy. The internationally acclaimed anthology film that she was part of – Tell It Like A Woman, is proof of that. It’s often the case that beautiful actors get typecast and filmmakers seldom scratch beneath the skin. Is Jacqueliene bothered about it? She hasn’t ever said it but of course, every artiste needs validation about his or her performance. You can’t just sail by on beauty alone. She’s single at the moment, though she isn’t averse to romance or marriage. She wants it all to happen organically. She isn’t waiting for a Prince Charming and rather be her own Ms. Charming, thank you very much.

She answers every question we throw at her with aplomb from far off Europe through voice notes. Excerpts:

Your anthology film, Tell It Like A Woman, got a lot of accolades. What made you sign this international film?

I did the film because Leena Yadav approached me. And she’s a filmmaker I really wanted to work with, and I love all of her work, especially Parched. We set out on this journey to make this short film, which was a first-of-a-kind experience for me. The story seemed very interesting, as did the script and I knew that it would be a great learning experience. I definitely did not expect it to make it all the way up to the Oscars for the Best Song category, but it did and that was just the icing on the cake.

Are you working with Jean-Claude Van Damme? A photo of you both posing together was seen recently.

I recently shot a film with Jean-Claude Van Damme in Italy and it was just great to be able to work with such an icon and legend, a true action hero I have looked up to and grown up with his films. Me and my family have a collection of all his films and we used to replay them all the time. We never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever shoot a film with him. But it is a great role and it is a fantastic script with action, drama and suspense all rolled into one. It has just been a great experience.

There was a photo of you with Selena Gomez too recently. Are you exploring Hollywood options?

I was lucky enough to meet Selena Gomez on my trip to Italy while I was shooting for the film with Van Damme and it was really great to meet such an amazing artiste. She is just so down to earth and real and it was great to be able to just spend time with her and that was our meeting.

What were your experiences at the Venice Film Festival? Did you get to see films? Who else did you meet there?

I attended the Venice Film Festival for their Italian pavilion and Venice Tourism as well. I got to do a panel where we got to speak about social media, OTT and technology now, how film and cinema have impacted us and the evolution of cinema. It was amazing to meet different people on the panel and I also got to attend the premiere of the film Ferrari, which was a beautiful film starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, directed by Michael Mann. It was great to actually watch the story of Ferrari and that too in Venice. Venice, of course, is a stunning and beautiful city. It is very romantic and it was magical to be there. It is such a unique space and I filled in on some pasta and spaghetti—all things film and glamour — and it was a beautiful weekend.

Would you say Kick was the turning point in your life?

Yes, Kick was definitely one of the turning points of my life. I would probably say my first film was a huge turning point for me, my first Bollywood film and I would also say Murder 2 was a massive turning point for me because it came at a point where I had no films at hand and I wasn’t sure what I was doing with my life. Then I got Murder 2, and it went on to become a great hit at the box office. I was able to sign films like the Housefull franchise and the Race franchise, so it was a very big moment for me, but of course I would probably say that Kick was like climbing the first rung of the ladder of success. After all of that struggle and years of working, finally seeing that blossom into a Salman Khan film and that too, Sajid Nadiadwala’s directorial debut and the beautiful role he wrote and got to play were the icing on the cake for me.

Do you remember your first film, Aladin (2009)?

I remember every single detail of my first film, Aladin. It was like a massive culture shock for me in an industry I knew nothing about and did not even know a single person here either. I just remember there was way more chaos, confusion, struggle and pain than there actually were happy moments for me in that film. I was just so new to everything and I really did feel like a fish out of water for most of the shooting experience, but I had the most amazing people around me. I had Sujoy Ghosh directing me, Amitabh Bachchan playing the genie and Riteish Deshmukh playing Aladin, so that’s what kept me sane and going.

Are you still in touch with Riteish Deshmukh and Sujoy Ghosh?

Of course, I am still in touch with Riteish and I do see him and his family from time to time. Sujoy is my go-to for everything and he is the one guy out of my closest people who I know would tell me things honestly. I really count on him for feedback, advice and honest answers. He is really amazing that way and really good at what he does and I am very blessed to have him as my first director.

You once said in an interview that you wanted to be a Hollywood star…

What I probably meant by that was that I would like to do all types of films. Doing films in Bollywood and in Hindi has been such an enriching experience for me because I got to live out my dream of becoming an actress, learning and growing and having all these amazing opportunities, being around all these actors and being in these films that become blockbusters. Playing beautiful roles, being part of amazing songs—for me as an actor, I want to explore and keep on exploring. Even if it meant doing films in French, English, or Spanish, I think it is just a beautiful experience to meet so many people around the world from this industry and all of us are working towards creating stories and putting out amazing work in the form of cinema.

OTT has become the new wave… are you interested in doing such projects?

It’s great to have content to watch from all over the world at the touch of a button at home or even while you’re travelling. I like that it’s opened doors to so many artistes and technicians from all over the world who are possibly not getting that opportunity in the smaller world of big-screen films. So, as an actor, I realised that because I came into the world when there was no OTT and I’ve lived through the whole evolution of it and the growth of it. I love the fact that not only are we evolving as an industry and as a medium, but we’re also evolving as an audience. We need different types of stories, different content pieces, actors and performances to actually evolve as an audience, and I think that’s an amazing thing.

Do you see yourself being part of the show business forever? Or do you have other plans?

I don’t think that I would ever be able to leave it. Once you’re an artiste, you’ll always find ways to express yourself in entertainment, show business, or in any type of art form and I don’t think it can ever leave you. I like to keep things flowing and I’d like to keep things open. I do feel that it will always be part of me and I love looking at opportunities as ways to challenge myself when they come my way. So no, I don’t think I would be leaving it for good. I might take on new ventures and new journeys, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to leave acting or showbiz completely.

You have always been a fitness freak. How do you keep yourself motivated?

There are days where I probably completely skip working out and there are days where I may not be that motivated, but then I push myself and I’ve come to realise that it’s okay to listen to your body. On days that you do need to give your body a break, it’s fine and on days that you know and probably do understand when you have been holding it off for too long and not been actually good to your body by not working out and eating well and then you’re like, ‘Your time is up’ and you need to start becoming more responsible, more disciplined. We know these things; I think it’s just about listening to our bodies. One thing that has helped me, because I do understand the importance of staying motivated and being disciplined, is setting up goals. So it could either be, this month I really want to improve my splits or I want to improve my backbends. I set up goals that I work on. This process kind of tricks me into keeping my schedule and keeping the momentum so that I don’t end up skipping. And I am just constantly in a flow of working out, getting up and moving my body; that’s important.

What do you love to do when not shooting?

I catch up on some reading and I love to write, so I do a little bit of writing. I listen to jazz or classical music at home, which I enjoy. I love making mood boards. I love to be around my cats. I don’t get to spend that much time with them because of work, but at home, it’s pretty much just my cats and me. So they always entertain me. I know it sounds funny, but I like to organise things when I get home, put things away, clean up things, like cupboards, or just clear out things that I feel like I don’t need any more and I think that a lot of my free time goes into it. I do like to work with YOLO, my charity foundation. And of course, I have to try and make time to visit the salon or the spa so I can also indulge in some self-care and self-love, which is an extremely important aspect of having to balance out your life.

How important are marriage and motherhood in your scheme of things?

The union of two people coming together and committing to each other for life—it’s beautiful and it’s not an easy step to take – trust this person. And if you genuinely feel like you have found your partner that you want to spend the rest of your life with and you both share the same ideals and values in life, I think it’s amazing. Marriage is a beautiful option. It’s great that people have kind of become more open-minded towards concepts like marriage. I think that if it’s something that you really want, it’s a blessing and it’s a beautiful blessing.

Please go on…

I look at marriage and children as okay; if this was what was meant to be, it’s meant to be. I want it to happen naturally and organically. If somebody amazing comes into my life and I’m able to share my life with him for the rest of my life and maybe we bring children into this world, I think that would be destiny. And if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I look at my life as a place where there are so many things in this world. There are so many people, so many places to travel, so many people to meet, so many things to experience, so many people to help, and so much good to do. So, I don’t want to only approach marriage and children as something I need to do; otherwise, my life wouldn’t be fulfilled. I don’t want to approach it like that. For me, marriage is love. And love is a very organic thing. And it has to happen to you. You can’t make it happen. For me, a child is a product of love. And it’s a very deep commitment to bringing another human being into this world. So it needs to be approached with a strong level of maturity and thoughtfulness. And of course, the most important thing is that it has to come from love, a place of love and that can only happen organically.

How do you define love today?

It’s offering honesty, guidance and support to the person when they need it, even if it means telling them where they are going wrong and allowing the person to see how beautiful life can be and how good people can be to each other, which I really do feel in turn brings out the best in people because there is good in all of us. It’s just that sometimes we don’t see it and sometimes it takes the other person to help you with that and that, for me, is love. You must really love a person enough to bring out the best in them. I think that’s a beautiful thing.

They say love makes you happy…

I think it’s such a beautiful emotion. And I’m talking about love from my family, love from my friends, my pets, my cats, animals, fans, people who have maybe appreciated my work and in turn, giving that love back. I probably have love for certain people—friends, of course, my family, certain fans that I have. I think just that shared emotion is such a beautiful thing, and it genuinely does make me very happy. Also, since I started my YOLO Foundation, I have realised that I have so much to be grateful for. And working with that foundation has really given me so much to be happy about and so much to feel good about.

What’s the best thing a guy has told you?

When you’re quite young, you pretty much take everything that anybody might tell you—any form of flattery and compliments—and it makes you feel really good. But for me, honestly, right now, when I do hear something flattering or when I hear something nice, beautiful, or sweet, I do not approach it the same way. I like to see words backed up by action. Otherwise, for me, they’re just words floating in the air. So if guys are telling you things like ‘I love you’, ‘You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me’, ‘I want to marry you’ and ‘I want to have children with you’ – a lot of the time they don’t follow through on what they’re saying. A lot of the time, it is just words. Sometimes it’s lovely to compliment somebody, it’s lovely to acknowledge someone, or even if you are being honest and you’re telling the truth and if you’re saying what you’re feeling. That’s a beautiful thing, too. I would never discourage that. But for me, I do believe that whatever you say has to be backed up by how you act upon it. Because then it really holds more value for me.