‘For years, I felt lost’

Kick was a prestige project that many of the industry’s leading ladies were vying for, and Jackie didn’t exactly earn their good wishes for bagging the film. “I know a lot of top actresses wanted to be in Kick. Their angst against me is justified; I’d have felt the same in their place,” Jackie admits when we quiz her about the industry’s reaction to her bagging the part.

Not-so-charitable voices also claimed that it wasn’t merit that got Jackie the part it was simply down to luck, being in the right place at the right time. The actress denies this was the case. “Neither Salman nor I believe in the ‘luck factor’,” she says.

“I believe that it is your talent and the hard work that you put in, which takes you places. I do believe in destiny but I’d rather work hard and struggle to achieve success than wait for things to work out. Shifting base to India from Sri Lanka, moving to Mumbai this was a process. It didn’t just happen by chance.”

While on the subject of Salman, we can’t help but bring up those persistent rumours about the palatial apartment that the superstar is supposed to have bought for Jackie. “I’m most upset about that allegation,” Jackie says, before adding with a laugh, “I wish it was true though! I walked up to Salman and informed him about the rumours that were doing the rounds, when I first got to hear of it. He laughed it off but I was like ‘how I wish it was true!’” The actress confirms that she is currently living in a rented apartment in Bandra.

With her career on the upswing, there’s news that Jackie may be starring opposite Hrithik Roshan in a big-budget film next. “I’ve heard that too,” she laughs. “Honestly, it’s too early to talk about the film. But working with Hrithik would be a dream come true.” Jackie says she prefers to let the right people make an official announcement.

However, she does tell us about the other high-profile project she is part of Roy with Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor. Recent reports have indicated that the project is facing an indefinite delay, which Jackie says is untrue. “There were similar stories about Kick. When you’re making a mega-budget movie, minor glitches are bound to happen. Roy is very much on track,” she says.

The actress says that Kick has given her “wings to fly” and she wants to focus completely on her career and there’s no room for “distractions”. “Like any normal person, I too feel the need for a companion. But that can wait. I came to India with the dream of making it big as an actor,” Jackie says.

“For years, I felt lost. Being alone in this country and in Mumbai, I didn’t have too many friends. Despite the adjectives like ‘beautiful’ and ‘glamorous’ that were used to describe me, I felt low on confidence. I look at my growth in the industry as having been slow and steady. There were times I failed and learnt from my mistakes and then made the same mistakes again! Today, I’d like to believe that people take me more seriously. I take myself more seriously.”

From learning to deliver her dialogues in Hindi to working on a more curvaceous figure, Jackie is trying hard to imbibe the qualities that define Hindi film heroines. “About time I do that, don’t you think?” she responds, dramatically.