Any other newcomer in her place would have been on the edge, worried and biting her nails, praying that her second and only film in her kitty does decent business at the box-office. But former Miss Sri Lanka and the heroine of the forthcoming Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai seems unperturbed. Despite the fact that the only other role she has is a cameo and an item song in Sajid Nadiadwala’s HouseFull.
“I can’t be crying, asking people what do I do. I have a huge Pepsi commercial campaign coming up. If Jaane Kahaan Se.. works out, fine. But if it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the road for me,” she asserts adding that she’s equally excited about the cola ad campaign and HouseFull as she is about Jaane Kahaan Se…
Point out to her that a cameo and an item song can’t boost her career, and Fernandez reasons, “I don’t consider my number in HouseFull as an item song. That term doesn’t exist any more. Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra have done songs for Shah Rukh Khan’s Billu. Would you call them item girls for that? I think it’s great to be a part of a huge project like HouseFull. I have a nice role too apart from a great song. I don’t think we regard the terminology of item girl or item number after top actresses came on board for it.”
Language problem
Ask her if roles are hard to come her way due to her diction and accent and Fernandez says, “Nothing like that. Though the way you speak Hindi will be different from mine, but that’s because you’ve been speaking the language for many years and I’ve just started a couple of years ago. There are enough roles for everyone out here. If you suit the part and work hard, you will get more work. I had not planned to venture into Bollywood, but films just happened to come my way.”
Language problem
Ask her if roles are hard to come her way due to her diction and accent and Fernandez says, “Nothing like that. Though the way you speak Hindi will be different from mine, but that’s because you’ve been speaking the language for many years and I’ve just started a couple of years ago. There are enough roles for everyone out here. If you suit the part and work hard, you will get more work. I had not planned to venture into Bollywood, but films just happened to come my way.”
‘Next question please’
The Lankan lass goes on to say that her life changed completely after she won the Miss Sri Lanka title. At the suggestion of friends and well-wishers, she came to India to further her modeling career. “It was an overnight decision. I travelled, met people, that’s how I got work. It’s destiny,” she enthuses.
Before she signed Aladin, the former Miss Sri Lanka was linked up with Vivek Oberoi and the two were reported to be more than just good friends. Mention that to her and all she’s willing to say is: “Next question please. I don’t have anything to say on this.” That’s not all, for she was said to be seeing Sujoy Ghosh when Aladin came up for release. “Can we move on please?” she counters, adding, “This is so irrelevant.”
However Fernandez is quick to admit that Nikhil Advani, producer of Jaane Kahaan Se… is a good friend and he recommended her to Sunil Manchanda for the cola campaign that his Mad Films produced. “It was very graceful on Nikhil’s part. It’s a huge project and I’m very excited to be a part of the campaign, work with Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, with whom I worked in Aladin previously,” she exults.
‘Jai Maharashtra’
Another friend is her co-star from both her films, Riteish Deshmukh. Ask her about learning Marathi from him and she says, “He taught me only two words — Jai Maharashtra. He said that’s all I need to know. In fact, I’m learning more of Hindi and Marathi from my spotboy and other staff.”
Fernandez is keeping her cards close to herself and reluctant to reveal her future plans. “There’s some exciting stuff waiting to happen. We shall save that for another time,” she signs off.