Jacqueline Fernandez

In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine.[12][13] and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do".[14] Although the film was a critical and commercial failure,[15] she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female.[16]

Fernandez at an event for her film Race 2 in 2013

In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love.[12] The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie."[17] Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon".[18] Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull.[19]

Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.[20][21][22] She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film.[23] Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked".[24] The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned ₹1.86 billion (US$26 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]".[25][26] Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance.[27]

Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand.[28] She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics.[29] The film emerged as a commercial success,[30][31] with the domestic gross of more than ₹1 billion (US$14 million).[32][33] In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go."[34] Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya.[35]

In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist .[36] She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick.[37] While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate."[38] The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over ₹3.75 billion (US$53 million), it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film.[39] The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses.[40][41]

In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film.[42] Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor).[43] While India TV called it "her best act till date",[44] critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range."[45] Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure.[46] Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan.[47]

Fernandez at the promotions of A Gentleman with Sidharth Malhotra, 2017

Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult".[48] The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying.[49] Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife".[50] Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot",[51] while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel."[52] Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut.[53]

Fernandez began 2016 with a role in the sequel to Housefull 2. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction".[54] Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing ₹1.88 billion (US$26 million) worldwide.[55] Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed ₹1 billion (US$14 million) at the box-office.[56] Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.[57]

In 2017, Jacqueline appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew.[37] The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini.[58] Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop.[59][60] Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa.[61] The film proved to be a box-office success.[62][56] In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise.[63]

Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput.[64] She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder.[65]

Jacqueline Fernandez reunites with Akshay Kumar for the 4th time in a gangster drama 'Bachchan Pandey'. [66]