Tollywood has a new addition to its list of crème-de-la-crème glamour girls. Mohan Babu's new venture with his son Vishnu will see the sultry Celina Jaitley being introduced to Telugu films. A heavily publicised debut in Jaanasheen and Khel later, Celina is ready for more roles, and is eager to don the garb of a writer and stay in touch with the latest in politics.
"I've been receiving many offers from Telugu but I was tied up in Bollywood. When Mohan Babu approached me, it was with a story I couldn't say no to," says Celina, while taking a break from her shooting. The fact that Mohan Babu's previous film with Shilpa Shivanand was steeped in controversy after Shilpa alleged that the producer slapped her hasn't made Celina apprehensive.
"Mohan Babu and Vishnu are thorough gentlemen and professionals. Why should I be worried about controversies?" she asks. She's all praise for their professionalism.
"I come from an Army background and like to be punctual. It's nice to work with disciplined units."
Back in Bollywood, she's working on Idiot and Boney Kapoor's No Entry. There are four more projects coming up. "But, because of superstitious reasons, I don't want to talk about them now," she says, clamming up. And the debacle of Khel hasn't bogged her down. "You cannot always have a winner on your hands. For me, what matters is being better each time," she says.
She's been globetrotting for four months and has also been dabbling in politics. She campaigned for the Congress during the elections.
"My alliance with the party continues," is all that she reveals. For those who snigger at the glamour world's links with politics, she retorts, "Actors are an important part of the society and its culture.
Actors aren't criminals, they are not illiterate. Most of us are educated and have travelled extensively. We are not con artists but artists."
And Celina has more in her kitty. If she's not working, she's jotting down her thoughts on her laptop and all of this is going to go into her book. "The book is about a girl who started off young in a big city. People can laugh or learn from it. I'm trying to put my past together. Often, the past fades away as we move into the future. Which is why we had two world wars and were on the brink of another one," she quips.
(Courtesy Times of India, July 7, 2004)
Posted on 12/3/2004 6:16:16 PM