Celina Jaitley recalls how the death of her gay makeup artist shook her and changed her mind and how she received threats from people for supporting the LGBTQIA movement. The actor, who is quite vocal about the community, also added that even her sexuality was questioned.
Celina rose to fame after winning the title of Femina Miss India in 2001 and also became 4th runner-up at Miss Universe in the same year. Later, she made her acting debut with the 2003 film Janasheen and starred in films like No-Entry, Golmaal Returns, Apna Sapna Money-Money and many more.
Talking to Masala about Pride Month, Celina said, “Probier Da (Celina’s make-up artist) was a mother figure to me in my struggling years as a 15-year-old model. He was my fairy godfather. His death shook me. His last conversation with me, just a week prior to him passing away, was about his fears of old age as a gay man, of not having children or a life partner and his wanting to see me get married to a nice man. All his life had been spent in pursuit of happiness, which he could never achieve due to the stigma associated with being gay. While all his fears went away in one tragic incident, it changed something inside me forever.”
“I received threats from people around the country. Even LGBTQIA colleagues from the film industry turned their backs on me because they were worried any association with me would make their identities vulnerable to exposure. I supported LGBTQIA organisations, events and film festivals despite the threats. Due to the dangerous threats I’d to hire extra personal security amounting to lakhs on my expense in order to continue my work. Some organizations I supported let me down when 377 was revoked. I was also hurt by the very people I stood up for when no one wanted to associate themselves with the community. From being questioned about my own sexuality to threats from extremists and being dropped from friend circles and films, I’ve experienced it all,” she further added.
In the same interview, the actor also touched upon the failed relationship with her boyfriend who was a closet gay. She called it the turning point of her life. Celina was last seen in Season's Greetings.
