Jacqueline Fernandez on playing an action star, her 17-second rule and playing it cool

A few weeks ago, Jacqueline Fernandez took off to Tokyo to bring in her 32nd birthday. Fernandez who will soon be seen on the big screen with Siddharth Malhotra in A Gentleman decided to, “Put herself first and not wait for schedules to work out,” and made her way to the Japanese capital. “I have always wanted to go visit the city and been infatuated with the country since childhood. Somehow I never found time. My holidays revolve around my shoot dates and places we travel to film,” says the actor who had initially wanted to visit the country during cherry blossom season (usually around March-April).

Stunts galore

Now back from her holiday, the Sri Lankan actor is busy promoting her upcoming film where she plays Kavya, a girl who works in a tech company and is an adventure junkie. “She lives abroad, is super independent and always speaks her mind. She is a bit like a guy, prefers beer to wine and enjoys her social life. I related to her character a lot,” says the actor who admits that she always wanted to work with the film’s directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K as, “They are cool, contemporary and have good aesthetics. I was intrigued by the storyline and they had me at the interval. In fact, I remember lobbying for a film I wanted to be a part of that they were supposed to direct earlier,” she laughs.

Another first for the 32-year-old are the stunts she will be seen performing in the film. Stunts come naturally to the Fernandez as she is, “An athletic person in real life”. When the directors briefed her about landing a couple of punches, kicks and handling a gun, she was excited. “I feel a little sad that in our industry, there’s not much action the actresses are given to perform. I have been a part of so many big films but I feel so left out as I never get to do any action. This is a first and it has given me a taste of what I really want to do now, and that’s definitely a lot more action flicks,” she emphasises.

Working out

The actress has also been wowing everyone with her pole-dancing moves in the film’s latest song – ‘Chandralekha’ and has grown into quite an aficionado of the dance form. Set in the backdrop of an office party, the song is shot in a pub where Kavya breaks into a pole dance. “We wanted to imbibe the Miami vibe in our song. I found a trainer but on the first day of training, I realised that this dance form is really hard,” says Fernandez who trained for two months mastering pole dance. “I was very bruised, fell down a couple of times and even pulled a few muscles. All I remember reporting for the shoot at 4 a.m. in the morning for the pole dancing part. I was on painkillers and my whole body was sore. My physiotherapist prescribed me a pain killer and I asked him for another,” says Fernandez who has now incorporated pole fitness in her fitness regime. “It is a major core and upper body strength workout and it keeps me toned and is cool and artistic at the same time,” she declares.

Turning point

Fernandez made her Bollywood debut with the 2009 film Aladin. While the film was panned, she went on to act in Murder2 (2011), Houseful 2 (2012) and Race 2 (2013) among others. But it wasn’t till the 2014 Salman-starrer Kick that she was confident enough about herself and the films she was doing. “I had major insecurities and issues with my confidence. When I got Kick, I didn’t believe that I deserved it and kept wondering why I was selected for the film. It took a lot of lecturing and speeches from Sajid sir and Salman and only after I worked towards believing that I was capable enough that I started to actually become confident in the roles,” says the actor who reveals that before Kick, she wasn’t selective enough about her roles. “I was taking whatever was coming my way. I was just happy to be given the opportunity, as beggars can’t be choosers though I was lucky enough to good offers. After Kick, I wanted to utilise my time and energy by putting myself first and doing the kind of work I wanted to do,” says Fernandez who has also featured in Roy and Brothers later.

In her eight years in the industry, Fernandez has “witnessed many highs and lows” most of which have helped her introspect and discover the person she strives to be. While achieving a zen-like state still needs work, Fernandez now follows the “17-second rule”. She explains, “You create a vibration and energy for yourself that overcomes stress, anger, sadness. If something is upsetting you, give yourself 17 seconds to get yourself back into a good vibration. It works and the more you practice, the easier it becomes as things stop affecting you. I have always believed that as much as your day is going bad or things aren’t working out, you can never bring your worries and stress onto other people and into your work. It has really helped me.”

Fernandez takes pride in having mastered the art of playing cool — whether posing for pictures at events or while stepping out for errands. “You either adapt or change your profession. [Or] use it to your advantage and enjoy, as there’s no point trying to resist and getting upset about it. Now I see the bright side of it [all]. I realized, [that] I can’t avoid being photographed so I have decided to enjoy the moment,” she states.