Pursuing music and reading books on acting kept Celina Jaitly Haag occupied during her time away from showbiz

Celina Jaitly Haag marked her return to acting with a short film, Season’s Greetings (2020), after Thank You and Shrimathi (both 2011). As she prepares to get back to the grind, she tells us that she decided to take a break from acting as she was exhausted with the parts coming her way. “It came to a point where it started getting offensive, it was time to take a pause, rethink, reinvent and have a deeper learning of what I really wanted,” she shares.

So, what did she do while her time away from showbiz? “I diverted my time to United Nations,” says the UN Equality Champion, adding, “I also focused on music as I cut my first single as a recording artiste with Neeraj Shridhar (musician) for The Welcome, an amazing Bollywood style project themed on LGBT equality and acceptance. It garnered millions of views. I even got to perform with Sting in New York.”

Apart from music, Haag decided to read books on acting which would eventually hone her craft. “I read everything on acting, right from An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavsky to Improvisation For The Theatre by Viola Spolin. I gave my heart and soul to lose the Miss Universe title and find the performer within. I went on train with thespian Lillette Dubey for Season’s Greetings,” she says.

The actor believes that her break involved “a lot of soul searching and hard work” but she’s happy to “finally have a direction now”. Going forward, she plans on venturing into production much like contemporaries. “I’m so happy to see my colleagues turn producers. It’s very important as it helps you do good projects that suit your calibre. It’s a wonderful way to move forward and I’ve certainly thought about it,” Haag ends.