**i just got this off the stardust site, but i'm planning on getting the mag over the weekend(hopefully, if the stores have it by then). once i get the mag, i'll scan up the bigger version of the pix. so for rt now, here r the smaller 1's w/the interview from the site.
WILD ENCOUNTER
Celina Jaitley
She didn’t manage to win the Miss Universe crown, but she did win a million hearts with that hypnotic grey gaze and ravenous tresses set against her ivory skin. And when Celina Jaitley emerged from the ocean in a mauve bikini, violin in hand, in her first promos of ‘Janasheen’, belief was reinstated that mermaids existed. With a definitive attitude of ‘Have mind — will think, have tongue — will talk and have stuff — will strut’, Celina wears her sexuality comfortably, snugger than that mauve bikini. With this candid ‘Wild Encounters’, this Jaitley jilts the generation of Sati Savitris.
How much of emotional sensitivity do you attach to sex?
A lot, because without any emotional attachment, I cannot ever see myself getting into a physical relationship. For me, sex is not between my ears and my brains, it has to happen through my heart. I truly believe in Madonna’s line, "Without the heart, there is no understanding between the hand and the mind." That says it all.
You think that our social and moral police have much to do with shadowing our minds with such prudish thoughts?
Of course, we’re brought up in a culture where we’re told that sex is only something that should happen on the wedding night. Also, too much of romanticism is attached to sex through books, films. That’s the atmosphere we’ve grown up in. And to a certain extent, I’ve been like that too for a very long time. I owe it all to the Mills and Boons I’ve read and the movies I’ve seen, they had definitely conditioned my mind. Maybe, if I was born in Europe or the States or any foreign country, I’d probably see no wrong in going all the way at the age of thirteen, treating sex as a casual need of the body.
Do you think there’s a lot of difference in the way a man approaches sex and a woman does?
Certainly, a man can have sex anytime, anywhere. ’Coz ultimately, he’s ruled by his organ. Luckily, women don’t have penises. It saves them a lot of damage. I think, for a woman, it’s about love, caring, after which follows sex. Which is why you’ll see more and more women with emotional excess when their relationships are over.
How much importance would you attach to sex in a relationship?
Of course, physicality in a relationship holds a lot of importance. How long can you talk to the person you love? How long would you, like they do in Bollywood films, dance around trees and flutter your eyelashes? There has to be something happening behind the trees and bushes, right? It’s like having a piece of chocolate in front of you and not being able to eat it. Sex is as important, if not less than emotional bonding.
Picture this, here’s the man of your dreams who meets your ideals in every respect, but in the physical department, he doesn’t arouse you, would you go on with such a relationship?
Well, I would try and give it a little while and effort, but if it doesn’t help, then I don’t think I would go ahead with a man who doesn’t arouse me. I think when you’re in love, it’s only natural to yearn for physical closeness and want to discover each other in the intimate sense. Sex becomes the ultimate act of intimacy when you’re in love.
Would you agree that there’s a lot of hypocrisy concerning sex in our society?
The birds do it, the bees do it, a woman in a burkha does it, a woman in a saree does it, everybody does it, unless you decide to become a nun or a priest. And I’ve heard, even priests do it. I think ours was the most sexually aware culture. If you go back in time, if you go to Ajanta and Ellora or the Konark temple in Orissa, you will see explicit visuals and sculptures in various sexual positions. It goes to prove that ours is the culture that has taught the world the art of eroticism. And yet, we are so hypocritical about sex. It’s still a subject that’s spoken of behind closed doors. It’s probably one of God’s most beautiful creations, yet it is such a taboo when it is raised as a subject of conversation.
Do you think that dressing up provocatively garners unnecessary attention from men?
Yes, dressing provocatively does garner a lot of attention, but it might not always be unnecessary. I dress up provocatively, and I have received more admiration for that.
I think times have changed, look at Bollywood, frontline heroines are so much more sexually confident than the demure ones of yesteryears. You have just one life, and in that, some women have just five years to look good, while others have ten. So my suggestion is, make the most of it, and when you’re sixty, don’t look back and regret that you didn’t wear that plunging neckline and that push up bra. ’Coz you ain’t gonna fit that sexy black number when your body’s being held up with botox. It’s nice for your ego, when you have men drooling over you and no woman would deny that.
Would you cast aspersions on someone who has one night stands or lives in with a man and label her as loose or easy?
See, that is a personal choice, it differs from person to person. Some people prefer sex as part of a long-term relationship, while others find familiarity a real passion killer. I think, for them, a one-night stand works just fine. If you’re a woman of today, who you want to have sex with, when you want to have sex, is totally your prerogative.
Nobody on this earth should decide that for you. As far as living-in is concerned, I think a live-in relationship is much better than getting married to a man, who, after ten years, is having a rollicking affair with another woman. It gives you that option of getting to know if this man is it. The only difference is that a live-in relationship is blessed by God, and marriage is blessed by law. If you’re mentally married to someone, you don’t need validation. I would never consider a woman loose just because she has casual sex or lives in.
Don’t you think a live-in kills the mystery in a relationship?
Maybe, but it saves a lot of disaster in the long run. Look, I don’t want to be 40, not as good looking as I use to be, with three kids, while my husband’s having a rolling affair on the side, just because my parents got me married to this man. Some person I have known for ten days or six months, a live-in can stop you from committing that blunder.
I know that sometimes, relationships can break up because of the most trivial reasons. Here, you get to know the person in every way. I think it’s advantageous for a man since he can see his woman’s face in the morning sans make up. Small little knick-knacks like toilet habits can piss you off about the other person, living-in is like a preview to a marriage, and you still have the option of not going through with the entire film. I would personally, rather live-in with a man than get married. ’Coz, for me, my career holds priority right now. I already gave my all to a man and he walked out on me. In retrospect today, I’m so glad that we lived in together, than had a relationship that would have eventually fizzled out. Nobody else was hurt but me, there was no family involved, that is only possible with a live in.
What if your man confessed to having strayed with a one-night stand? Would you have him back if he promised it wouldn’t happen again?
No, I wouldn’t have him back. If I have offered my loyalty to the person, the least I’d expect is just that in return. It’s a different thing if he’s strayed in thought, I’d welcome it as a healthy thing as long as that thought hasn’t translated into touch. ’Coz men, as we know them, have to ogle at other attractive women. And I’m not talking about every woman here. If a man has to look for greener pastures if Celina Jaitley is by his side, having achieved what I have, and still my man needs to have a one night stand, then God help him, but I won’t.
Do you believe in feminist ideas like ‘men only view women as a score on their scoreboards’?
Not all men. I think, at a particular age, they must, ’coz it’s all about knowing a woman’s anatomy better. But when they grow up to be mature sensitive men, they come to realize that a woman only completes nature’s circle.
Has another woman ever made a pass at you? How did you react to it?
Yes, a woman has made a pass at me. This particular woman, who lives in the Gulf, calls me up and directly tells me she’s in love with me. And for a split second, I didn’t even know her remark was sexual in nature. I said ‘Well, thank you’. It was only later when she implied that she would want to spend the rest of her life with me and make me the happiest woman on earth, did I discover she was gay. I politely reacted to her by saying, ‘If by the age of 60, no man has ever been able to make me happy, then maybe, I shall come to you’.
Have you ever made a blatant pass at a man?
Well, no situations have ever called for such desperate measures. And honestly, if I have ever liked a man or had a deep attraction for him, then touchwood, till now, it has always been mutual. So you see, things would get rolling before I could get down to making a pass. And coming from an army background where chivalry is still considered a virtue, I would wait for a man to make the first move.
Speaking of virtues, do you think virginity is a virtue?
I don’t think it’s a virtue. You could lose your virginity riding on a horse, for God’s sake, so what virtue are we talking about?
At Juliet’s age, everyone views virginity as a virtue. It’s when you’re thrown into the real world, you know it’s just too much issue over a tissue.
— Arcchana Aithal
