Celina sizzles beyond B-town

Even a few movies later, Jaitley was considered for her looks than acting prowess. This year, the former Miss India surprised all by winning the Best Actress Award at the Cairo International Film Festival for her performance in Love Has No Language, an international flick shot in New Zealand.

Jaitley won the award for her role as Marina Roy, an Indian migrant girl who is torn between the traditional Indian values, her upbringing in New Zealand and her love for a Maori man played by Ben Mitchell. "I feel great as I didn't expect it to happen at a respected awards function. It's the best thing to happen to an actor and honestly, I was looking forward to it at this juncture of my career," she says.

Now Jaitley is eyeing more foreign roles, especially in Hollywood. "I am looking for roles where audiences can identify me with my performance. I want to play characters which become a part of history in world cinema," the actress says. There is already a strong possibility that Jaitley may do a film based on Arabian Nights, which has Sean Connery and Orlando Bloom in the leading roles. If she's lucky, this could be her big ticket to fame in Hollywood.

Bollywood recognition

Despite sizzling on foreign shores, Jaitley is yet to receive her due in Bollywood. The actress is optimistic that this is bound to change with the release of her latest Bollywood flick, Accident on Hill Road. The thriller with comic undertones has Jaitley playing the central character. "It's a dream role for me as it gives me scope to perform. It's a complex character and I am lucky to have Farooque Shaikh as a co-star to help me with my performance," she says.

Accident on Hill Road has wry humour running through its tense plot and comedy has been Jaitley's forte with hits like No Entry, Apna Sapna Money Money and Golmaal Returns. So does she play it safe by sticking to films which have a comic vein in it? "I have done a lot of comedies and I have been very successful. Moreover, I have learnt a lot from them, the most important being able to laugh in face of adversity," says Jaitley.

She continues, "When I was shooting for Golmaal Returns, a very close friend passed away and my brother had a serious accident. I did the funniest of sequences on the days I was most devastated. So it has helped me evolve as an actress."

Jaitley considers the dramatic role in Accident on Hill Road as a turning point in her career. "I absolutely believe that the time has come for a change and it will happen through this film."

Glamorous roles

A change in direction may disappoint many Jaitley fans who love her in glamourous roles. "Whatever I have achieved so far is because of my glamourous image and I have no plans of going deglam," she says.

The actress says it's all about doing good cinema and playing a variety of roles. "If my character demands me to be sexy I will go all out to do it and if it requires me to be a monster and hideously ugly I will do that too."

Luck factor

One must agree that Jaitley is not only lucky with the right projects, but she has also escaped from the jaws of death on two occasions.

The spunky star had a brush with death recently when a camera buggy nearly toppled her into the sea on a shoot in Maldives for her South Indian film Sreemati (a remake of the Hindi film Aitraaz). "Camera assistant Ram Gopal Mishra grabbed me, he saved my life," she says.

Her next tryst with death was on the sets of Subhash Ghai's Hello Darling, where she and actress Gul Panag were almost thrown out of a car due to a clutch malfunction. If the vehicle had not stopped they would have been hurled over the cliffs of the Western Ghats in India.

Dubai connection

The former beauty queen has not forgotten her fashion roots and is still going strong in that direction through her association with Jashn saris in Dubai over the past three years.

"I think the sari is the most beautiful thing. We have taken this outfit to an altogether different level. Along with Jashn, I am creating the ultimate bridal outfit. It's something Dubai folks can look forward to," she says.

Social Endeavours

• She has pledged her beautiful eyes by endorsing the Care for the Eye programme.
   
•  She is a Peta activist who recently applauded the Pune cops for banning the use of horses, elephants and camels into the city of Pune.
   
• She has recently been invited to speak on issues of acceptance of minorities (religious as well as gender) to 1,000 employees of Goldman Sachs, a renowned international investment bank
   
• She is a brand ambassador of Egyptian Tourism.
   
• She is a controversial campaigner and blogger on the rights of the marginalised. In defence she says, "As a military attaché's granddaughter and the daughter of an army colonel I've been brought up to not overtly react to controversies. I am the living example of a modern day middle class girl who has done well for herself and stood up for what is right in the entire world".