Too Pretty to Act?

That’s the arrogant assumption Jacqueline Fernandez often has to deal with. An unvarnished chat sets the record straight— and unveils exciting extras like her love for Tinder and disdain for fairness creams.

- Saumyaa Vohra

A little while ago, Jackie (hey, it’s what she prefers) made an important statement on television for women all over the world that battle boilerplate labels on the daily. “People tend to assume that if you’re happy all the time, you’re a bimbette. It’s actually really hard to stay positive in today’s world, so while it should be looked as something fantastic, it’s used against you.” It was perhaps that moment that brought our reckless judgment of Jacqueline Fernandez to a grinding halt. True, the girl is vibrance in hot-girl form, but both facets of her personality have often worked against her— of her own admission. “I was almost invariably cast as arm candy—they were called ‘prettygirl’ roles. My job was essentially to stand there and ‘bring glamour to the frame’,” she laughs, without the slightest ounce of resentment of it all. “Honestly, when I started out, I knew nothing about acting. I was part of those ‘foreign girls’ who didn’t speak Hindi, so we weren’t considered serious actors anyway,” she shrugs. “I even remember being told by someone I met at the Barry John Acting Studio (to which I primarily went because I had no clue what I was doing) to ‘not worry about acting, and just look good’. Advice like that would be social suicide—now. But back then (I hate to admit it), it worked! It also got to me. For instance, I would never offer an opinion on what my character should be like. I didn’t think my involvement was warranted.”