Off The Beaten Track

Ruwini Jayawardana

First Bipasha Basu unveiled her sultry side in Jism. Next the sassy Mallika Sherawat had her big break with Murder. Now it is Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez who is the new star in the Bhatts camp to take the meaning of stardom to new levels.

The former Miss Sri Lanka visited the island recently to take part in the jury to select Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2011, a crown she adorned in 2006. Following are excerpts of an interview with the leading lady of the dark and disturbing Murder 2 which is unspooling at Liberty Lite cinema.

Since Aladin had a huge star cast and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai went unnoticed, the unexpected enthusiasm for Mohit Suri’s Murder 2 was Jackie’s vehicle of success.

“It is the first time that I am experiencing something like Murder 2. It exceeded people’s expectations and became a super hit. It’s like euphoria for me. I didn’t taste that kind of success from my previous films. That is very disheartening especially when you work very hard on a project and it fails to make it at the box office. However I believe that Murder 2 marks a new beginning for me in Bollywood,” she said. Though she essays the role after Mallika Sherawat, she says that she was not influenced by the actress’ performance in the film’s predecessor.

“Murder which came in 2004 was such an iconic movie. It made Mallika a star. I was ready for comparisons but at the same time I knew that Murder 2 is very different. It is a different role and narrative. I knew that once people watched the movie the comparisons will not be there anymore,” she noted with confidence.

The posters of Murder 2 adorning Jackie and Emraan have lifted many eyebrows. Queried if she wants the public to see her as the latest bombshell she said that she saw her character as mature and serious rather than plain sexy. The team had to tone down much of the scenes because they did not want to make it so cliché.

“Murder was about an extramarital affair so that needed an element of sensuousness and sexuality. Murder 2 has a thriller atmosphere. We were not trying to make it erotic for the sake of the audience. If you go in there thinking I want to be the sex symbol of the industry, that is what will happen to you. I did not go for Murder 2 with that mindset. It took a lot of preparation and training to get into the character,” she said.

She expresses that when you go out there to attain sex symbol status, you only go for roles of similar nature. She said, “I went for Murder 2 because of the brand and role. I know that the movies to follow will be poles apart from this performance. I do not like to repeat a role that I have portrayed before.”

Speaking about Housefull 2 she revealed that it is ‘madder, bigger and funnier’ than its predecessor.

“House Full included six to eight main roles while its sequel has around 16 stars. It created such a buzz before it was announced that I am really looking forward to its release next year. I play a dhobi girl in the film. It is an actress’ job to get into the skin of characters irrespective of nationality. It is great to try out different things because it gives you something to do for the character and I thoroughly enjoy that variation,” she said.

Queried if she is not afraid of being sidelined by the huge star cast in Housefull 2 Jackie said that since she is a new comer she does not mind that.

“I am acting with a lot of senior actors like Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty. These are very senior actors who I want to learn from. One of India’s finest comic actors, Akshay Kumar, the hunk of Bollywood, John Abraham, and Asin Thottumkal who had done over 100 Tamil movies is cast in the film. As a new comer you should not try to overshadow but be true to yourself, stay in line with your character, listen to advice and learn,” she mused adding that her Aladin co-star Riteish Deshmukh is also among the cast.

Many in the industry are already dubbing her as Katrina Kaif in the making. So does Jackie believe in the number game?

“I think people lie when they say that they are not in for the number game! Eventually you do want to be on top of the list. It says a lot about you, your fan base and how good your work is. We all strive to be the best. Right now I plan to take it easy. There is no rush,” she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Commenting on talks of a Murder 3 starring Bipasha, Mallika and herself, Jacqueline broke into a radiant smile.

“Bhatt Sahab did not tell me that though he had made a public statement. He got a lucrative brand in Murder. If he makes Murder 3 I will be glad to be part of it because it had done wonders for me,” she giggled.

She had also signed in for Raaz 2, India’s second 3D horror flick. She said that the prospect of working in a scary movie gives her jitters of excitement.

Like Hollywood, Bollywood too is going through a sequel trend. Jackie already has many sequels in her kitty, enough to dub herself the ‘sequel queen’ as she playfully puts it.

“Even some of the movies that I have turned down are sequels. I believe that they have understood that it is actually safe to go with a sequel. They say in the business that you actually double in what you made first. It is just a matter of timing. It is weird that my next three will be sequels,” she added with a smile.

Asked which Sri Lankan movie she wish she had been offered, Jacqueline named Boodee Keerthisena’s Buongiorno Italia. She would also like to work with Vimukthi Jayasundara. She is considering a film project in Sri Lanka at the moment but says that things cannot be rushed.

“I will be working more closely with Sri Lanka in several projects. I see a lot of potential but it is being stopped due to various reasons. That is quite sad. I had the opportunity to go and further myself but others too rightfully deserve that. I share my experiences in whatever I have seen in India to help the local industry grow,” she said.