Television has huge connect with people: Jacqueline

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who is making her small screen debut as a judge for the ninth season of "Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa", says television has a huge connect with people.

Asked if she feels if TV is a stronger medium than films, Jacqueline told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai: "Everyone may not go and buy a ticket to watch a movie but everyone has a television at home. It definitely has a huge reach and a huge connect with the audience."

Though the "Dishoom" actor believes TV has a "fantastic connect", she says she doesn't know if it is a stronger medium than cinema.

"People do love, admire and emulate film stars as well. The reach is undoubtedly very large. I don't know if I would want to compare it to cinema," added the actress, who hails from Sri Lanka.

Talking about the celebrity dance-based show, co-judged by filmmaker Karan Johar and choreographer Ganesh Hegde, the "Roy" star feels she has a huge responsibility on her shoulders as she would be mentoring the contestants.

"Yeah, it is a huge responsibility because these contestants are celebrities...and have a huge fan following. They are really very talented so for me it's kind of like 'How do I judge them?', 'How do I judge people with so much talent?' and at the same time 'How can I help them to fulfil their dreams?'," said the 30-year-old.

But being a judge is a "daunting task" for Jacqueline.

"It's (judging and mentoring) very tricky and a very daunting task, but it's also an exciting experience," she added.

The celebrity contestants of the ninth season of the Colors show include Arjun Bijlani, Shakti Arora, Helly Shah, Surveen Chawla, Karishma Tanna, Gaurav Gera, Nora Fatehi, Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi and Sidhant Gupta.

It will go on air from Saturday.