It would not be wrong to call
Genelia D'Souza a Southern Star.
The Mumbai-based actor's
substantial fan following lies
south of the Vindhyas where she
has a string of hits to her credit, especially in Telugu and
Tamil. And now she is aiming at
expanding her fan following with
Urumi, her first Malayalam film
that reaches cinemas today.
Genelia makes her debut in Mollywood as the warrior
princess Arackal Ayesha.
Speaking on the telephone from
Chennai, where she is shooting
for Velayudam with Vijay, she
says that of all her characters, now her favourite is Ayesha.
All for the challenge
“I never thought I would be able to do a role like that. But
Santosh Sir [Santosh Sivan,
director of Urumi] saw the
potential in me and gave me a
character that was nothing like
what I have done before. Santosh Sir threw me a
challenge and I took it up,” gushes the actor. To enact a martial arts expert,
Genelia had to undergo two
weeks of hard training to learn
to use the sword, the short
stick, and movements of
Kalaripayattu. She also learnt horse riding. Ms. Sunshine became the heart
throb of many youngsters in
Kerala as Harini in the Tamil Boys.
But Genelia warns her fans that
Ayesha is not Harini or Aditi (her
character in Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. “Ayesha is so not Genelia. She does not smile at all in the film.
She is determined and dedicated
to her cause. There is so much
of hurt and anger in her and
those changes in her mood were
a challenge to portray. I have done several action sequences
and did all my stunts myself,” says Genelia. What was difficult, she admits,
was speaking the old Malayalam
that is used in the movie. She is
all thanks to Shankar
Ramakrishnan, who has scripted
the film, for his moral support and help in delivering her lines. Prithviraj, her co-star in the film,
too, was helpful and so “non- starry.” “Many of the crew and actors of Urumi were amazed when I was
cast as the princess in the
period film. But once the cameras
started rolling, they had to
agree that Santosh Sir's decision
was right. They appreciated the amount of work I had put in to
breathe life into the role.” The management student and
top model, with a clutch of
brands that flaunts her face and
infectious smile, says that her
management studies and work in
modelling did ease her move to the big screen. Although her
road to Bollywood was pretty
smooth, it has been a bumpy
ride with only Jaane Tu… to highlight as a hit. None of her
films in Hindi (Chance Pe Dance,
Life Partner…) clicked at the box office. “You don't work for a hit alone. Your satisfaction as an
actor is important too.
Moreover, I have never been an
add-on in any film of mine. I do a
film only if there is space for me.
It can be a song and dance film, a serious one or a rom-com, but
I must have a substantial role.
And I don't think I have repeated
my characters. That is the only
reason why my fans keep coming
back to see me in a film,” she argues. One at a time But somewhere along the line,
Genelia seems to have realised
that it would be difficult to do
justice to her roles if there were
too many characters on her
acting palette. “Instead of doing several films at the same time, I
have decided to do one each in
Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. That way,
I can give my best to each film. I
am doing Force with John
Abraham, which is the remake of Gautam Menon's Khaka Khaka
and an untitled Telugu film with
Rana Daggubatti,'' she explains. And would she be willing to act in
another Malayalam film? “Yes, if the role is challenging enough.” Her style mantra, she
emphasises, she is wear clothes
that make her look like the girl-
next door. Whether it be in ads
or film, I try to wear clothes
that make me look like a middle class girl. And it works. For
instance, I met a girl who told me
that she told me father that she
would not get married until he
got her the sari I wore in
‘ Sasirekah Parinayam,' (Telugu). Acting mantra I am a spontaneous actor. I don't
think I give my best even during
the rehearsal. But once, the
director calls for action,
something happens.. something
mniue and that is when I give my best. All the thinking that I have
d about the character comes
thourgh at that last minue. It
has wlays worked for me.
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