Genelia D'Souza (born 5 August 1987) is an Indian film actress, model, and host. She has appeared in South Indian cinema and Bollywood films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, Genelia began her acting career with
Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. She was recognized for her role in
Boys the same year, and later established herself in Telugu cinema by acting in several Telugu films during 2003–2005.
Genelia received her first Filmfare Award in 2006 for her performance in the Telugu romantic film,
Bommarillu, which earned her critical acclaim. In 2008, she gave critically acclaimed performances in
Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of
Bommarillu, and the Bollywood movie
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na.
Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and
Tamil, Genelia has established herself as one of the leading actresses
of the South Indian film industry.
[1][2] In addition to movie acting, Genelia has hosted the television show
Big Switch, and is the brand ambassador of Fanta, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack, LG Mobiles, Garnier Light, Margo, and Perk in India.
Born in Mumbai
[4] into a Mangalorean Catholic family,
[5][6] Genelia was raised a Roman Catholic in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai.
[7] Her mother Jeanette D'Souza was formerly a managing director of the Pharma Multinational corporation (MNC), who left her job in 2004 to help Genelia with her career. Her father Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
[8] She also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza,
[9][10] who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
[11] According to Genelia, her name means "rare" or "unique", and is a portmanteau of Jeanette and Neil, her mother and father's name. She is also often informally referred to as
Geenu, her nickname.
[12] Genelia studied at the Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra and later joined St. Andrew's College in Bandra to pursue her Bachelor's Degree of Management Studies.
[13] She completed her degree while shooting for her first film,
Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003 and initially thought that an MNC job would suit her.
[14] She liked sports and studies in college,
[14] and was a state level athlete, sprinter, and a national level football player.
[15]
Genelia did her first modeling assignment at the age of 15,[7] the result of being spotted as the bridesmaid at a wedding.[14] She was selected for the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan,
just two days before her exams, and had to shoot the next day.
Initially she refused, because of her exam the next day, but the
director persuaded Genelia to shoot for the commercial.[14][16] She gained wide attention from the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan,[17] who said "she was good, and her expressions were spontaneous".[18] She further did a Fair and Lovely 2003 Cricket World Cup advertisement with cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Debut and recognition, 2003–05
When Genelia was offered a role in
Tujhe Meri Kasam,
initially she turned it down, as she was not keen to pursue a career in
acting. But the crew insisted and kept contacting her for two months,
and she agreed when she saw the Telugu version of the movie.
[16] Tamil director, S. Shankar,
was impressed with her performance in the Parker Pen commercial and
decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film
Boys.
[19]
Genelia was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie.
She signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages,
Tujhe Meri Kasam (Hindi),
Boys (Tamil), and
Satyam (Telugu).
[6]
Genelia's professional movie career began,
[20] with her Bollywood debut
Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.
[8] Indian film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Genelia is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core."
[21] The movie garnered poor box office returns,
[22] and it failed to propel her career in Bollywood.
[23] Following her poor debut in Bollywood, she decided to act in South Indian films.
[4] Later the same year, she made her Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in
Boys,
a story about five teenagers having stereotypical teen-boy fantasies.
The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box-office
success,
[24] and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers.
[19] She left Tamil cinema for a while to concentrate on the Telugu film industry. She made her Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in
Satyam.
[25] Sify noted in their review that, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset."
[26] The movie was well received,
[27] and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry
Turning point in South Indian films, 2006-08
The year 2006 marked a significant turning point in Genelia's career.
[37] She completed two Telugu movies in early 2006, one was the romantic comedy
Happy, and the other was
Raam.
[38]
She then portrayed the role of Haasini, a vibrant, effervescent and a
happy-go-lucky young girl, in the 2006 Telugu romantic film
Bommarillu. The movie, a blockbuster at the box-office,
[39][40] grossed
250 million (US$4.55 million) in India,
[41] and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award.
[42] Her character was well received,
[43] and garnered her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress,
[13] besides Nandi Special Jury Award and Santosham Award for Best Actress.
[37]
Sify concluded about her acting in their review that, "The scene
stealer is Genelia with her innocent looks and cute mannerisms. She does
not overact and we just fall in love with her character. Genelia looks
like a dream in chic skirts and is the life of the party and raises the
bar of the film.
Return to Bollywood and recent work, June 2008–present
In June 2008, following a nearly five-year hiatus in Bollywood, she appeared in
Mere Baap Pehle Aap,
[53] which failed to make profit at the box-office.
[54]
A Rediff review noted, "besides her apparent cuteness, brings in tons
of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play",
[55] while a Sify review criticized her stating, "Genelia is sprightly but has a standard two-three expressions bank in this film."
[56] She later appeared in the Telugu love story
Ready alongside Ram, which was well received.
[48][57] Her breakthrough performance in 2008 was through the portrayal of the role of Aditi Mahant in the blockbuster
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, which was an economic success across India and overseas, grossing
564.1 million (US$10.27 million).
[58]
Her role was widely admired for her sweetness and freshness, and new
style of acting, with Rediff describing her acting as a "spark that has
been missing in Hindi cinema for well over a decade now".
[59] In that same year, Genelia acted in the Telugu romantic comedy
Sasirekha Parinayam.
[60]
The movie received favorable reviews, and Sify noted in their review
that, "The life of the film is definitely Genelia and she has shown the
varied emotions from innocence, sadness, romance and anger in equal
proportions without a hitch."
[61]
In 2009, Genelia was cast in the Hindi film
Life Partner, in which she was criticized for her performance. Indian fim critic Rajeev Masand commented, "The adorable little imp from
Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na has turned into a nagging harridan in this film, and how you wish she'd immediately enroll for acting lessons."
[62] Her next appearance in 2009 was in the Telugu thriller
Katha, which was well received,
[48] and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award.
[63] In 2010, Genelia appeared in
Chance Pe Dance and
Orange, both receiving poor reviews from critics, but her
Uthama Puthiran was a moderate success in Tami
D'Souza was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show,
Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which seeks to raise funds for The Banyan, a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai.
[76] She was one of the judges at the grand finale of Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt 2009 contest on 28 March 2009.
[77] She also walked the ramp alongside Tushar Kapoor for fashion designer Manish Malhotra at the Lakme Fashion Week 2009 on 28 March 2009.
[78] On 5 April 2009, D'Souza was among several Bollywood celebrities to perform at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 finale in Mumbai.
[79] In October 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali on the second season of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited
(HDIL) India Couture Week, a platform created to celebrate India’s
fashion heritage by showcasing the country’s leading couture designers.
[80][81] On 24 October 2009, D'Souza began hosting
Big Switch, a television show based on slum kids on UTV Bindass channel to reach a bigger audience
Controversies
In June 2010, she was the subject of a controversy, when a Tamil daily reported that she had attended the controversial 2010 IIFA Awards in Colombo.[99] Several Bollywood actors and the South Indian film industry had boycotted the event, over the alleged killing of Tamilian civilians at the height of the conflict between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.[100]
The rumours of her visit to Colombo started after her friend Ritesh
Deshmukh was seen at the festival in Colombo. Immediately, various Tamil
groups and Kollywood associations demanded her films to be banned
Personal life
D'Souza is deeply religious and says that, she regularly attends
Sunday Mass at St. Anne's Parish (Bandra), and whenever the family is
home, a part of their evening is reserved for saying the rosary together.
[9] In an interview with
The Times of India, she comments, "I keep a Novena every Wednesday at St. Michael’s Church in Mahim."
[7] In an interview with
Daily News and Analysis,
she said that "My communication with God is conversational, [...] I'm
God's favourite child; I believe that God has always been kind to me."
[9] Her mother tongue is Konkani.
[5] Tabloids repeatedly linked D'Souza romantically with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they starred together in their debut film
Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.
[104] They were reportedly ready to get engaged, but Ritesh's father, the then-Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not agree.
[105] D'Souza later denied any rumors of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that she had just friendly relations with him.
[17]
However, the couple eventually got married on 3 February 2012,
according to Marathi marriage traditions in a Hindu wedding ceremony.
[106] She got married at a Roman Catholic ceremony in Bandra, at the following day
Filmography
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