Actor Celina Jaitly has spoken openly about a deeply personal chapter of her life that unfolded quietly behind headlines and legal notices. In a recent interaction with PTI, she revealed how she left what she described as an abusive marriage in Austria overnight after learning that her brother had been detained in the United Arab Emirates.
The phone call came late at night on September 29. Celina said she initially dismissed it as a prank. “I got to know around September 29. The call came at around nine at night. I was living in Austria then. At first, I thought my brother was playing a prank. For an hour, I dismissed it as one of his stupid jokes,” she shared.
Celina Jaitly on walking out of an abusive marriage
Celina said she was already struggling in her personal life at the time. “I was in a very abusive and bad marriage. But when you have children, you do everything to make that work. When you don’t have parents, when you no longer have your assets, you do everything to keep your marriage going, specifically for your children.”
The news about her brother became the turning point. “I took that decision in the middle of battle, without dragging my children into it. Knowing that if I don’t leave Austria, I won’t be able to stand up for my brother. At 1 o’clock in the night, with hardly any money, a ticket bought on a credit card, I left Austria and came to India,” she said.
She added, “Nobody really came forward to support. In my darkest hour, I realised I had neither friends nor family in my immediate circle. Instead, strangers came and stood by me like a rock.”
Who is Vikrant Kumar Jaitly?
Celina’s brother, Major (Retd) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, has been under what she calls “arbitrary detention” in the UAE for 17 months. A retired Special Forces officer and former UN peacekeeper, he was picked up from a mall in September 2024. For nine months, his whereabouts were unknown, she said.
“After he retired from the army, he joined his wife in the Middle East. She had formed a company called the Matiti Group, which had various verticals from information technology to cyber security to risk management and HR services, and Vikrant went on to join her firm just like any other veteran.”
In mid-2025, it was confirmed that he had been moved to the Al Wathba detention centre in Abu Dhabi.
Legal breakthrough and public support
Celina shared that the Delhi High Court has allowed a UAE-based legal firm to represent her brother, calling it a major step forward. She also received support from members of the film industry, including Preity Zinta.
Calling herself a “fourth-generation armed forces daughter,” Celina said she has raised the matter at the highest levels. “My brother is an Indian soldier. He cannot be left in arbitrary detention.”
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