Jacqueline Fernandez talks about using social media to market herself; insists recommendations don’t carry weight without actor’s credibility
Anirban Das (MID-DAY; May 21, 2016)

In the seven years that Jacqueline Fernandez has been part of Bollywood, the actress has featured in several big banner projects and has had industry bigwigs as co- stars. However, to put it bluntly, the success of many of those films, including Housefull 2 (2012), Race 2 (2013) and Kick (2014), did not really have much to do with her presence.

How has she managed to sustain her market position and continue bagging mainstream projects? Ask her if recommendations from the likes of Salman Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala have helped her in her journey and she is quick to say, “No one in this industry recommends anybody until and unless an actor has a certain credibility.”

Prod her again about the Kick biggies putting in a good word for her and she says, “In my case, yes, Salman and Sajid have helped me create a reputation, but that happened only because they have seen the hard work I put in to give my best. My hard work to create a kind of reputation has been noticed by people and that is of huge help.”

This year, she has three releases lined up — the third instalment of Housefull with Akshay Kumar, A Flying Jatt opposite Tiger Shroff and Dishoom with Varun Dhawan, but she isn’t relying on just ‘hard work’ to get ahead in a cut- throat industry. She is among the few B’wood celebs utilising the digital medium to connect with fans on a daily basis. “It is important to stay connected with fans. I am glad people are appreciating my efforts. Initially, when I started posting stuff, I didn’t care, but now that I have massive followers on Instagram (5.5 million) and Twitter (3.97 million), I am scared to put things up now. Before sharing any of my posts, I have to be a 100 per cent sure that no one gets offended by them,” she says.

Jacqueline also talks about other factors that she keeps in mind while marketing herself on social media. “It is important to not keep posting about your achievements and go gaga over it. People get bored after a point. So, I also share tidbits about other personalities. It takes a lot of effort and energy, but is essential and totally worth it,” she concludes.