Genelia D´Souza, Imran Khan´s petite and perky co-star in ´Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na´, brushes off rumours of any relationship with Riteish Deshmukh with a "we´re just friends."
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Genelia teamed up with Riteish for her first Hindi film ´Tujhe Meri Kasam´ and they were seen together once again in ´Masti´. While ´Tujhe Meri Kasam´ bit the dust at the box office, ´Masti´ hit bull´s eye. But the film´s success didn´t help much in shaping her career.
"I´m very much single. Riteish is a friend. But that´s it. I´ve no idea where these rumours come from. We´re both very busy. When we occasionally meet up, we´re normal with each other, not the least self-conscious about what´s written about us. I´m very new to all this. I´ve done two films with Riteish - ´Tujhe Meri Kasam´ and ´Masti´," Genelia told us.
The actress forayed into showbiz with Amitabh Bachchan as her co-star.
"I did a Parker pen ad with him when I was still a kid. It seems I´ve been acting forever. I started young, yes. In 2003, I had three releases in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Strangely acting was never an option. That ad was directed by Mansoor Khan. He kept me in mind for ´Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na´, and here I am," she said.
"Actually ´Jaane Tu...´ was being produced by Jhamu Sugandh first. That´s when I screen tested for the role of Aditi. I met the director Abbas Tyrewala and he almost finalised me. But he needed bulk dates from me and I was busy down South. He wanted to shoot at a stretch. I couldn´t do that.
"Then one day I got a call from Aamir Khan´s office. Abbas wanted a complete newcomer. But Aamir wanted a girl who suited the character. The next thing I knew, I was on board."
Genelia said she was never that keen on an acting career.
"But when I saw how I was appreciated down South, I fell in love with the industry. I´ve been lucky. I didn´t plan anything. I´ve never contacted a single producer. So far it´s been an awesome journey."
After Tamil and Telugu, Genelia has just made her debut in a Kannada film.
"I´m sure I´ll be able to dub in all the South Indian languages soon. I know I can do it. I just need to get the slangs and colloquialisms correct. Honestly, I need to dub my own lines in the South to give complete performances."
Like Asin, Genelia is now dividing her time between Bollywood and the South.
"I´m getting a lot of calls in Mumbai. I want to balance it out. But the priority would be Hindi films right now because I´ve worked really long in the South. But my South Indian films are also very important.
"I get very satisfying roles in Tamil and Telugu. And I can´t let them go. Let´s just say I´ll do one film down South for every two films I do here. In any case, they wrap up their films superfast down South.
"I also had fun doing Priyadarshan´s ´Mere Baap Pehle Aap´. I enjoy doing films in all languages and genres."
She said that her commitment to southern directors affected her Bollywood career.
"I got busy with the South; that´s the only reason why it took me so long to get noticed in Bollywood. There´s a buzz about ´Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na´ because it was Imran´s debut film."
Right now she is busy shooting for ´It´s My Life´ with Harman Baweja. It is a Hindi remake of Telugu hit, ´Bommarilu´.
"I´ve done the original in Telugu. Then I also did the remake in Tamil. Now I´m doing it in Hindi. The Tamil and Telugu versions were similar. But the Hindi version is very different. Today, both the South and Hindi are high-potential industries for me. I´m still a newcomer in Bollywood."
