Mumbai: Starring opposite Salman Khan in what may well turn out to be the biggest blockbuster of the year (Kick), it would be understandable if Jacqueline Fernandez displayed some anxiety or nervousness. However, the actress seemed calm when we caught up with her for a chat. Jackie tells us that she has put in her best effort for Kick, and what happens now, is all up to destiny. Excerpts from a conversation:
Does being paired opposite Salman Khan as a solo lead make you feel more comfortable?
What makes me comfortable is the fact that there is a lot for me to do in the film. Frankly, that has never been the case before. Most of my earlier movies, especially big hits like Housefull 2 and Race 2, have been multi-starrers and I have ended up sharing screen space with other girls. In the case of Kick, at the narration stage itself I went ‘wow!’.
Didn’t you get many solo lead offers after the success of Murder 2, Housefull 2 and Race 2? One would have expected you to be inundated with them.
Let me confess that at that time, there were hardly any offers coming my way. I was myself surprised but frankly, very few films were being offered to me and out of the few, there was not even one film that I really wanted to do. Thankfully I didn’t get too worked up, otherwise I may have ended up making bad choices by picking up one among those rare films that did come to me.
Was it a difficult phase to cope with?
It was disappointing for sure but then I thought that my journey would be a little longer than others before something major came my way. I was ready to wait; perhaps pick up a multi-starrer here or an item number there. I never imagined though that Kick would come my way. Well, it did give me a ‘kick’ after all — pun intended!
Did it feel surreal?
More than surreal, it was about grabbing this opportunity with both my hands and feet! I went all out for the film and that, too, to such an extent that I was hardly there for my family, whom I haven’t met for six months now, and friends, who have pretty much disowned me! But then I had to take this extreme step. I faced the camera as if it was the last shot I was giving. There was no way I could have erred at all; I knew Kick was my final chance. It indeed is!
