Bollywood is intimidating: Jacqueline Fernandez

The 26-year-old actress, who hails from Sri Lanka, says that being an outsider in the Hindi film industry and the country has its own drawbacks.

"At the end of the day you are an outsider and it doesn't help you much when you don't even belong to the country. You can't imagine how it feels for a young woman to come back to an empty apartment, be all lonely and face her demons.

"The city starts seeming far more alien while the sheer unpredictability of Bollywood as an industry starts intimidating you," Jacqueline told PTI.

It has been just three years in the industry for the former model, who began her acting career with 'Aladin' in 2009, followed by 'Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai'. But both films bombed, making it tough for Jacqueline to make a mark in Bollywood.

"I had a very rough last year. 'Jaane...' and 'Housefull' released back to back and though 'Dhanno' was a good enough reason to smile, honestly I expected much more from my career," she said.

Jacqueline, whose only silver lining was the item number 'Dhanno' in 'Housefull', said, "At the end of the day you do expect bigger and better movies coming your way in Bollywood. Item numbers are fine but acting is something that I wanted to continue. Unfortunately things weren't quite looking up at that time."

But 'Murder 2' has brought some respite to her unstable career this year and Jacqueline has a bevy of films lined up. Even though Hindi is an alien language for her, the actress says she has tackled the problem.

"Language hasn't been an issue as I have pretty much picked up Hindi in the past three years."

She recently bagged 'Krrish 3' opposite Hrithik Roshan and is looking forward to 'Housefull 2' and 'Raaz 3'.

"I am feeling a lot more settled and now is the time to prove myself. I have been working my very hard and feeling a lot more secure as a person.

"These are far happier times for me. I am a lot more content than before. I have no complaints or regrets. I have been given these opportunities and now it is up to me to make the best out of it," said Jacqueline.