“There is a lot of discipline down South, which we lack thoroughly in Bollywood”

GENELIA D’SOUZA tells JYOTHI VENKATESH

Today, like Kajol, Genelia D’Souza also celebrates her birthday. If Kajol celebrates her 46^th birthday, Genelia is celebrating her 37^th birthday. Today Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia have two sons- Rahyl and Riyaan. Genelia is one cool babe from Bandra in Mumbai who vanished into thin oblivion after making her bow opposite Ritesh Deshmukh in Ramoji Rao’s Tujhe Meri Kasam and a few films. Genelia kept herself busy down South working in Shankar’s Tamil film Boys, and a Telugu film called Satyam opposite Sumanth, Nagarjun’s nephew. Genelia was also seen in both her Telugu films Sye opposite Nitin and Samba opposite NTR Jr.

With Indra Kumar’s Masti, once again opposite Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia resurfaced in Bollywood, when I had met Genelia for an interview last. To wish Genelia a happy 37^th birthday, we at bollyy.com and Mayapuri are reproducing this interview I had with her. This home-coming with Masti for this Bandra girl has worked wonders. She has shed her excess weight and looks chic and ready to plunge herself into more films in Bollywood like her co-star Ritesh.

Genelia Dsouza and Reitesh Deshmukh

“I was not sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs after the release of Tujhe Meri Kasam. I am by God’s grace one of the top heroines down South as far as Telugu and Tamil films are concerned. Today I now technically much more than what I knew when I made my debut with Tujhe Meri Kasam.” she quips.

Genelia studied at the St Andrews College where she learnt management. Today she is a Bachelor of Management. “I can now manage my career as an actress better since acting is actually all about managing yourself in front of the camera.”

Genelia’s leading man in both the Hindi films of hers released till date- TMK and Masti was Ritesh Deshmukh. (Note please Besides these two films which she did in the early stage of her career, Genelia was also seen with her husband Riteish Deshmukh in yet another film of theirs together- Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya as well as the Marathi home production Mauli).

“The comfort level did help me emote better because both Ritesh and I had started out together with Tujhe Meri Kasam and could hit off very well. I did not have to be formal with him because we already had a film like Tujhe Meri Kasam behind us. Working in Masti with Ritesh was fun because I played this role of a husband bashing character. Though I, Amrita Rao and Tara Sharma played the wives in Masti, it was interesting because we did not play the typical aunties but young wives. Vivek Oberoi, Ajay Devgn and Ritesh and Aftab Shivdasani vied with one another in playing pranks on all of us when we were totally unsuspecting.”

Genelia who frankly admits that right now she does not have even a single film in Hindi on the floors, says that she is open to offers from Hindi film producers. “However I believe in going very slow and steady for the simple fact that I do not have any God father who will further my interests in this industry because I hail from a Catholic non- film family and do not have a father who would come forward to make the best of films to propel my career forward. I will be doing a film in Hindi shortly but I do not want to reveal the name of the director right now. For the time being I’d like to keep it under wraps.” quips Genelia.

Genelia is impressed with the way films are being shot down South. “There is a lot of discipline down South, which we lack thoroughly in Bollywood. In any case I am just a small fry in the big ocean since I am only two films old in the Hindi film industry. While Tujhe Meri Kasam was almost entirely shot in Hyderabad, Masti was shot in and around Mumbai. The major difference I find is that when you shoot a film in Mumbai, you report at the dot of 7 am for a 7 am shift only to face the camera at 11 am whereas down South you have got to report at the studio with your makeup on at 6.30 am for a 7 am shoot. And the shoot begins right at the dot of 7 a.m. I am amazed at this professionalism shown by producers down South.”

According to Genelia, she does not want to take up projects in which she has to reveal herself beyond the levels of decency because her parents have reposed a lot of trust in her and she would not like to do anything which hurts them.