Celina Jaitly still angry at makers of Emraan Hashmi film Jawani Diwani for ‘betrayal’: Made it all about serial kisser

Celina Jaitly recalled being promised a better character arc in Jawani Diwani, slammed makers for diluting it for commercial convenience.

Nearly two decades after the release of Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride, actor Celina Jaitly is reclaiming her voice and shedding light on the emotional betrayal she experienced—not just through her character, Roma Fernandez, but also as an actor. In a heartfelt post, Celina revealed that the film’s original promise of portraying a woman’s emotional journey was sidelined in favour of a male-centric spectacle.

Celina Jaitly talks about getting betrayed as an actor in the film Jawani Deewani.

Celina Jaitly talks about being betrayed by Jawani Diwani makers

On Tuesday, Celina took to Instagram and shared a montage video of her and Emraan Hashmi’s scenes from Jawani Diwani, captioning the post: "If I had directed this film, I would have told it from the perspective of the heart, from a place of raw, real emotion. I would never have allowed HER: ROMA FERNANDEZ to settle for someone who hurt her, used her, and diminished her worth. I would have honoured her journey, just as I was promised during the director’s narration."

She further revealed being 'betrayed' as an actor in the movie, adding, “But just like my character was betrayed in the story, I too was betrayed, as an actor. What was meant to be her story became all about him, the serial kisser, while the woman who was kissed and believed it was love was pushed aside.”

Celina clarified that her post was not against Emraan, but the makers of the film. “This is not against my amazing co-star; this is against the mentality of the makers at the time, who chose spectacle over sincerity and diluted a woman’s voice for commercial convenience,” she added.

About Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride

Directed by Manish Sharma, the film featured Emraan Hashmi, Celina, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Tiku Talsania and Mahesh Manjrekar in key roles. Known for its peppy music and cheeky humour, the film follows the story of a carefree aspiring singer caught between love, ambition and complicated relationships. The film received mixed reviews for its plot and treatment of characters, particularly its handling of the female lead’s arc.

Celina has been away from the big screen for a long time. The actor was last seen on the big screen in the Kannada film Shrimathi in 2011. The film also featured Upendra, Priyanka Trivedi in lead roles alongside Prem Chopra, Sayaji Shinde and Rekha Das in supporting roles.