Interview: Celina Jaitley
By: Sima Malhotra
Tough life of a model-turned-actress, fans seem to focus more on her beauty than on her intelligence or talent.
A former Miss India herself, Celina Jaitley likes to believe she has taken on serious roles throughout her relatively short Bollywood career to show she is more than just a pretty face with a knockout body.
Indeed, as her latest film is set to release this week, Jaitley believes her role in Accident on Hill Road will show that her place in Indian cinema is no accident.
“I can confidently say that whatever people have seen of me so far, they would see the other side of me in this movie,” the former beauty queen said about her role in Accident on Hill Road, which she believes is the best performance of her career. “I think it has taken five years for me to grow as an actor. It was all about going for the right script.”
For the most part, Jaitley seemed to have a nose for landing ideal roles for her, starring in respectable films such as Janasheen, No Entry, Golmaal Returns, Apna Sapna Money Money and Tom, Dick and Harry.
Yet, it was this role in Accident on Hill Road — a thriller about a chance hit-and-run automobile collision that changed the lives of two people — that was too perfect for Jaitley to pass up.
Coming off a much-advertised past-life regression therapy, Jaitley believes this film will not only shape her public image but also help her maintain her new-found inner peace.
“I think, after experiencing the process, my faith just strengthened,” she humbly told reporters. “The experience of discovering past life was incredible.”
She now hopes her moviegoers will fill the seats at cinema halls around the world and find Accident on Hill Road an entertaining thriller of a film.
Based upon a real incident, Jaitley pointed out the film was not at all related to Salman Khan’s much publicized hit-and-run collision but instead a similar event in the United States.
On that note, Jaitley pointed out to the media that her favorite scene in the film involved an automobile accident – a scene she believes will place moviegoers at the edge of their seats.
“My favorite scene from the film … is coincidentally an accident scene with the Farooq Sheikh,” she pointed out. “It is because I always had a fear of driving, even when I am sitting on the passenger’s seat. The scene scared me to bits; it was very scary. In fact, now that I recall, I don’t know how I pulled off that scene.”
Of course, Jaitley had to first muster up the courage to work side by side with (her co-star) Sheikh before confronting her fears of driving. After all, she admitted she was quite the nervous wreck when she first met Sheikh.
“I was a bit nervous when we first met on the shooting sets, and it continued (until) I shot my first scene with him,” she coyly confessed. “To get a chance to work with an actor of his caliber is rare, as he does only one film every two to three years, so it was a nice experience and a privilege to do a film with him.”
Jaitley’s personal nerves probably are not apparent on screen, though the tension her character experiences in crossing paths with Sheikh’s character after a car accident gets to the very heart of the film.
Directed by debutant filmmaker Mahesh Nair, Accident on Hill Road is a tale about a drunk driving-induced hit-and-run automobile collision, with the lives of all parties adversely changed.
Also starring Abhimanyu Singh, Accident on Hill Road releases worldwide on December 31st.
