Actress Celina is shocked over public apathy

May 10, 2008 Subhash K Jha

Mumbai, May 10 (IANS) Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley is in a state of shock after her brother had a near-fatal accident in an army cantonment town in Madhya Pradesh.

"He could've died on the road, right there...my parents' only son, my brother," Celina, who has featured in films like "No Entry" and "Apna Sapna Money Money", told IANS. The accident took place in Mhow.

"And would you believe, my brother Vikrant, a captain in the army, who was posted in Lebanon with the UN peacekeeping force, lay in a pool of blood for 25 minutes unattended after being in a hit-and-run accident. People just stood and stared at this army man in uniform as he lay dying," she added.

"Until a Muslim gentleman passed by, saw the scene, found my brother's mobile thrown off at a distance. The gentleman, god bless his soul, dialled the last number on my brother's mobile which happened to belong to my father, a retired army colonel.

"Can you imagine a father being told his only son is lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the road? My father ran all the way from our home to the spot. Fortunately, an army doctor who happened to be passing by had taken charge of the situation by the time my father arrived.

"They both kept screaming and shouting at my brother to keep him from slipping into coma until they reached the hospital. Otherwise anything could've happened."

The actress was busy shooting for Rohit Shetty's "Golmaal Returns" in Goa. On hearing the news, she rushed home.

"I had to rush to Mhow to be with my parents. I felt really guilty that I wasn't there for them when this happened. Then I had to rush back to Goa because it was the climax shooting of 'Golmaal Returns' and there was no way I could be relieved. I shot the climax, then rushed back to be with my parents.

"I've hardly slept in the last one week. Fortunately, he is now out of danger and has been shifted to Lucknow. But no one can imagine what I've gone through."

What really bothers Celina beyond the immediate crisis is the apathy of common people.

"No one helped my brother. Women just stood there with their dupattas to their mouths, men just looked on curiously, when everyone in Mhow knows my father as retired Colonel Vikram Jaitley. Our home is known as the Jaitley kothi.

"In fact, some over-concerned types took my brother's shattered helmet from the accident site and gave it to my mother at home who was deliberately kept clueless about my brother. She thought the worst had happened."

However, the worse is over.

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