Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly has slammed the makers of her 2006 film Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride, accusing them of "betrayal" and altering the essence of her character for commercial gain. Taking to her Instagram account on Tuesday (July 22), the actress shared her long-held frustration, stating that the film, originally pitched to her as a character-driven story, was ultimately skewed to favour her male co-star.
"If I had directed this film, I would have told it from the perspective of the heart, from a place of raw, real emotion," Jaitly wrote, along with a glimpse of the film.
"I would never have allowed HER: ROMA FERNANDEZ to settle for someone who hurt her, used her, and diminished her worth," she added.
Celina went on to express that the portrayal of her character was not what she was promised during the film's initial narration. "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," she wrote.
She also clarified that her criticism was not directed at her co-star Emraan Hashmi. "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 noted.
Jawani Diwani, released in 2006, was marketed as a youthful romantic comedy and starred Emraan, Celina, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tiku Talsania, Sherlyn Chopra, Mushtaq Khan and others. It was directed by Manish Sharma.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Celina was last seen in the short film titled Season's Greetings which released in 2020. The actress is quite active on social media and she often shares anecdotes and throwback photos and videos with her Instagram followers.
