Cannes 2024: From 'nose job' to 'hiding her age', Jacqueliene Fernandez recalls bizarre advice she got as a newcomer in Bollywood 

Jacqueliene Fernandez

Bollywood actress Jacqueliene Fernandez walked the red carpet at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival 2024. She was invited to the festival by a luxury car brand. This marked her second appearance at the festival. Recalling her debut walk at the prestigious film festival, Jacqueliene said, "The first time I came here was definitely memorable. I came as a guest to a friend and it was very overwhelming but when I walked the red caret it was really fast. There was not one pap who took a picture of me. But that was fine because I didn't expect that because it wasn't official."

Jacqueliene Fernandez who made her debut in Bollywood with 'Aladdin' opposite Riteish Deshmukh and Amitabh Bachchan completes 15 years in the industry this year. In a conversation with Brut India, she spoke about the challenges she faced in the initial stages of her acting career in India. "Probably the inexperience. I had absolutely no background in acting or in films. I had really no idea on how to navigate my way around things, around the industry, around the people. So I think that was something I really struggled with," she shared.

Worst career advice:

Before Jacqueliene joined the film industry in India, she was crown Miss Sri Lanka. Despite that, the majority advice she got was on her physical appearance. Recalling the worst advice she got, she said, "Very very early on in my career, I was at the gym and I was explaining to this actor that 'On, I have to go for this course and I have to go for this class. I am training in diction for this and then I am working out here. And he was like listen, just focus on looking good and you will be fine'. I actually think that was one of the worst pieces of advice I ever got, being someone who was trying to make it in the film industry."

Beauty perception in Bollywood:

Further talking about how beauty perception has changed in Bollywood, the actress said, "One amazing thing I have been noticing in Bollywood is that there has been more and more age inclusivity for women which I think is amazing because when I had first come here, I was terrified because this one actor had told me 'You are turning 30'. I was turning 30 that year and I was telling him about my birthday next month. 'I am turning 30, that's so crazy and I'm so nervous. It's scary.' And he was like, 'Oh my god, change the age on your passport". I was like "what?" He was like 'Well, you know, women don't get films after the age of 30. So that was disappointing to hear. But having said that, women are getting films at every age in their career right now. And I think that is an amazing thing."

The actress also revealed she was asked to get a nose job. "A lot of people pipe in mainly about your physical appearance. I was told many times to get a nose job It was crazy because I really came here loving my nose and not ever thinking about doing anything about it. Quite a few people earlier on actually told me 'You should consider getting that done'."