Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 25, 2020)

It’s a working Christmas for Jacqueline Fernandez who is shooting back-to-back for Bhoot Police and Cirkus. While every year the actress enjoys spending her time travelling with her folks, this year, since she is shooting in Mumbai, she had invited her parents home, but the pandemic played spoilsport.

“Last year, we had celebrated Christmas in France, and the year before that we were in Bali. This year, my parents were supposed to fly down to Mumbai from the Middle East, and I was really looking forward to it, but all the flights have been cancelled till further notice,” says the actress, who had planned on dishing out a special spread of Christmas sweets for the celebrations.

“My mom makes amazing apple cinnamon tarts and gingerbread cookies. I thought we could have some fun in the kitchen, but all plans went kaput,” she says.

Reminiscing the Christmas holidays spent in Bahrain while growing up, she shares, “During Christmas, we used to have an open house. People would join us for lunch and dinner. We would watch TV together, the kids would be playing in a corner, and I would be out in the garden playing basketball or a game of catch. Then we would unwrap gifts together while sipping on mom-made hot chocolate. At this time of the year, the weather in Bahrain would be extremely nice, and so we would go to the desert and do barbeque. Now, when I look back, I am sure my parents had a hard time as we were four kids. They would save up money all year to surprise us with gifts on Christmas.”

Though her plans to celebrate the festival with her folks didn’t materialize, the actress is keeping up the festive cheer at home with a Christmas tree, decorations and more.

Jacqueline says, “This year, the theme is pink Christmas. I have decorated the house as per the theme. Though, I am having a hard time saving it from my cats!” Talking about her four felines — Yoda, Loki, Xyza, Miumiu, she shares, “The Christmas décor is turning my cats into demons. It’s that time of the year wherein I don’t recognise them anymore (laughs!). There are a few stockings and balls that I have hung up on the walls, and the cats have destroyed 10 of them. I don’t even know how they reach there. And all of this happens at night. So, when I wake up to the mess, it feels that my house just got burgled, and then I realise that these little monsters did it.”

The actress, who is working on Christmas, has planned a special lunch with her team on the set and has also put up a Christmas tree in her vanity van. She says, “Since the past week, I have been treating my colleagues to Christmas cakes. I had got some cake on the sets of Bhoot Police. From director Pavan (Kriplani) and Saif (Ali Khan) to the crew members, everyone had it, except Arjun (Kapoor). I was surprised that he controlled himself; he is on a very strict diet.”

Talking about the other film set that has been keeping her busy, she adds, “On the sets of Cirkus both Ranveer (Singh) and Rohit (Shetty) enjoyed the cake, and we kept trying different cakes. It’s an experiment going on among us to discover the best Christmas cake (laughs!).”