Celina Jaitley floored by Kiwi attention

It was an experience of a lifetime for Celina Jaitley when she appeared for the premiere of her first international film, Love Has No Language, in Auckland on Nov 5. Though it was raining cats and dogs, though it was freezing cold and though our lady was down with stomach infection, meeting the glittering celebs of Hollywood was the reward worth the pains.

“It was the grandest premiere I ever attended. 800 Asians turned up to meet me besides the 325 formal invitees. We had the crème de la crème of New Zealand attending, including television film and sports personalities,” recalls an awed Celina.

Gorgeous as Celina is, it did not come as a surprise when New Zeland’s rugby star Monty Beetham seems to be quite impressed by our beauty.

Laughs Celina, “I’m no stranger to male attention. Though I met Beetham only briefly, I believe he was quite taken up by what he called the Indian beauty. I was just floored by all the attention I got.”

Celina talks about her illness and her experience at the premiere saying, “I was down with this acute tummy infection. I was doubling up with cramps and pain. I really thought I wouldn’t be able to attend. But at the last minute, I squeezed into my Manish Malhotra gown and dragged myself to the red carpet. The effort was worth it.”

The best part of the entire episode was the fact that her movie was admired by all and even got a standing ovation.

“Not only that, people stood in the pouring rain for autographs and pictures. I tried to oblige everyone. The New Zealanders are extremely warm. As I shook hands with them, the freezing cold melted away. Never mind my gown shrank into a mini-skirt, ” adds Celina.

Referring to her co-star Ben Mitchell as scary and horrifying, Celina says, “He scared the hell out of me with bugs and butterflies all the time. Believe it or not, I’m terrified of butterflies. And although the film is called Love Has No Language, I couldn’t understand anything he said because of his Kiwi accent. Maybe because I wasn’t really in love with him.”