Celina Jaitly Talks About Quitting Bollywood, Says She Wanted To Do Good Work But Was Always Projected As A Mannequin

To get a break in Bollywood is hard but to survive in the industry after getting a break is harder. With the current debate of insiders vs. outsiders and nepotism at its peak, Celina Jaitly spoke about how she had to beg for good roles instead of just being approached for glamorous roles and how that made her feel like a mannequin.

The actress spoke about her break from films and revealed that she was tired of being cast in glamorous roles while also trying to convince people of her talent while craving to do good films. In a conversation with Hindustan, Celina spoke of why she decided to end her stint in Bollywood the part that nepotism played.

“I came as beauty queen into the film industry. When Khan Saab [Firoz Khan] launched me then I had just been a runner up at Miss Universe. I was launched with a launched pomp and show and the first few years were amazing because you know you’re a beauty queen and you are doing glamorous roles, you’re a Firoz Khan girl, but three or four years down the line you realize I have talent, am I an actor. I kept feeling ‘why am I being projected as a mannequin?’ ‘Whenever I want to do good work  why do I literally have to beg people pick me, give me this role it would suit me, believe in me trust me?’” Celina who made her debut in the 2003 film Janasheen said.

The actress who did Anees Bazmee’s Thank You in 2011 spoke about starring in his film No Entry, “There were some great commercial films which I did and I love, one of them was No Entry because I love comedy. But except No Entry, I felt it was a struggle for me to convince people. This is where nepotism comes in where kids from film families, whether their film works or not, get the best directors, best scriptwriters, best designers, best make up artists, everything is ready. On the other hand, you are judged by your last film, and you can forget about second chances.”

She continued, “I kept doing those mannequin-like roles hoping now someone will rely one on me, someone will trust me and no one was willing to do that. I saw that and I felt this is dynastic [nepotism]… star kids are getting launched but no one has two minutes for you.”

The actress said that after struggling for a while she decided to quit the industry and explore other aspects of her life and also met her husband Peter. She said that instead of begging for good work and falling into depression she decided to move on and live her life to the fullest which she did by working with United Nations, living in different countries, giving birth to twins exploring music.