Genelia D'Souza

Genelia Deshmukh (née D'Souza; born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil language films. After gaining attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, D'Souza began her acting career with the Hindi film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. She was recognised for her role in the Tamil film Boys the same year.

D'Souza received her first Filmfare Award in 2006 for her performance in the Telugu romantic comedy film Bommarillu. In 2008, she gave critically acclaimed performances in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu, and the Hindi film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. Her other notable films include Satyam (2003), Sye (2004), Sachein (2005), Happy (2006), Dhee (2007), Ready (2008), Katha (2009), and Urumi (2011), as well as the Hindi films Masti (2004), Force (2011), and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (2012). Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, D'Souza was described as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry in the 2000s.

In addition to acting, D'Souza hosted the television show Big Switch in 2009. After several years of hiatus following her marriage to Riteish Deshmukh, she had a career comeback with the Marathi film Ved (2022).

Early life
Born in Mumbai, D'Souza is a Mangalorean Catholic. She was raised in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai. Her mother, Jeanette D'Souza, was a managing director of the Pharma Multinational Corporation. She left her job in 2004 to help D'Souza with her career. Her father, Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services. She also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza, who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange. According to D'Souza, her name means "rare" or "unique", and is a portmanteau of Jeanette and Neil, her mother and father's names. She is also often informally referred to as Geenu, her nickname. D'Souza 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. 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. D'Souza liked sports and studies in college, and was a state level athlete, sprinter, and a national level football player.

D'Souza did her first modelling assignment at the age of 15, the result of being spotted as the bridesmaid at a wedding. 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 D'Souza to shoot for the commercial. She gained wide attention from the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, who said "she was good, and her expressions were spontaneous". She further did a Fair & Lovely 2003 Cricket World Cup advertisement with cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

Debut and breakthrough (2003–2005)
When D'Souza 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 film. 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. D'Souza was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie. She signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages, Tujhe Meri Kasam opposite Riteish Deshmukh (Hindi), Boys opposite Siddharth (Tamil), and Satyam opposite Sumanth (Telugu).

D'Souza's professional film career began, with her Hindi film debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "D'Souza is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core." The film was a box–office success. However, it could not do much to propel her career in Hindi cinema. Later, she decided to act in South Indian films. The same year, she made her Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in Boys, a story about 5 teenagers having stereotypical teen–boy fantasies. The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box–office success, and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers. 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. Sify noted in their review that, "D'Souza is excellent as her body language is her major asset." The film was well received, and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.

In 2004, D'Souza appeared in her second Hindi film, Masti opposite Riteish Deshmukh. The comedy focuses on 3 close friends who reunite after 3 years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. D'Souza portrayed the character of one of the wives. Taran Adarsh was complimentary of D'Souza's role, saying, "Amongst the wives, D'Souza is the best, [...] D'Souza looks the stern and demanding wife and is sure to be noticed." The film was a box–office success. The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba alongside Jr. NTR, and Sye opposite Nithiin, both succeeding at the box–office.

After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu opposite Jr. NTR, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein opposite Vijay. A review in The Hindu noted, "D'Souza, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein." The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation. She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic film Subhash Chandra Bose alongside Venkatesh, a box office failure.

Recognition and commercial success in South Indian films (2006–2008)
The year 2006 marked a significant turning point in D'Souza's career. She completed two Telugu movies in early 2006, one was the romantic comedy Happy opposite Allu Arjun, which was a moderate success and the other was Raam opposite Nithiin. She then portrayed the role of Haasini, a vibrant, effervescent and a happy–go–lucky young girl, in the 2006 Telugu romantic comedy Bommarillu, reuniting with Siddharth. The film was a blockbuster at the box–office, and grossed inr 250000000 in India, and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award. Her performance received high praise, and garnered her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress, besides the Nandi Special Jury Award and the Santosham Award for Best Actress. Sify concluded about her acting in their review that, "The scene stealer is D'Souza with her innocent looks and cute mannerisms. She does not overact and we just fall in love with her character. D'Souza looks like a dream in chic skirts and is the life of the party and raises the bar of the film."



Following the success of Bommarillu, D'Souza played the role of the daughter of a local don, in the Tamil gangster film Chennai Kadhal alongside Boys co–star Bharath. Sriram Iyer from Rediff.com criticised her commenting: "D'Souza stands up yet again to prove the point that if you are pretty and well dressed, you can get away with anything, without acting." Shortly afterwards, she played the role of sister of a notorious gangster in the blockbuster Telugu film Dhee alongside Vishnu Manchu, set against a gang war backdrop. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com was appreciative of her portrayal and contribute to the film.

The following year, D'Souza appeared in the Telugu romantic thriller Mr. Medhavi with Raja, in which she portrayed the role of a student from Canada. The film was successful, with Radhika Rajamani complimenting her performance saying, "D'Souza is her effervescent self – full of joie–de–vivre and lights up the screen." She made her Kannada debut in Satya in Love the same year opposite Shiva Rajkumar, which was a box office success. Later, she was cast in a leading role in Santosh Subramaniam opposite Jayam Ravi, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu. The film turned out to be successful just like its predecessor. Sify described D'Souza's portrayal as "the soul of the film" and the film's "biggest strength", however Rediff.com's Pavithra Srinivasan described her character as "appears a little too good to be true."

Hindi film return and success (2008–2010)
In June 2008, following a nearly 5–year hiatus in Hindi cinema, she appeared in Mere Baap Pehle Aap alongside Akshaye Khanna, which failed to make profit at the box–office. Sukanya Verma noted, "besides her apparent cuteness, brings in tons of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play", while Sonia Chopra criticised her stating, "D'Souza is sprightly but has a standard two–three expressions bank in this film." She later appeared in the Telugu love story Ready opposite Ram Pothineni, playing a NRI girl. The film was well received and became one of the highest grossing Telugu fim of 2008. Radhika Rajamani opined that D'Souza "lights up the screen" with her performance.

That year, her breakthrough performance came with the blockbuster romantic comedy–drama Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, in which she portrayed the central character of Aditi opposite Imran Khan. It was a major commercial success across India and overseas, grossing inr 564000000. Her role was widely admired for her sweetness and freshness, with Raja Sen describing her acting as a "spark that has been missing in Hindi cinema for well over a decade now". While, Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times found her to be "consistently spontaneous".

In her film film of 2009, she appeared in the Telugu romantic comedy Sasirekha Parinayam alongside Tarun. The film received favourable reviews, with critics calling her "the life of the film" and praising her portrayal of emotions. D'Souza then appeared opposite Fardeen Khan in the Hindi film Life Partner a box office average, where Rajeev Masand noted: "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." Her next appearance was in the Telugu thriller Katha with Adith Arun, which was well received, and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award. 123telugu was appreciative of her well-sketched character and added that her efforts shows up.

In 2010, D'Souza first played a chronographer opposite Shahid Kapoor in Chance Pe Dance, which received poor reviews from critics. Rajeev Masand criticised her "half-baked role". D'Souza then played a college student who believes in true love in the Telugu film Orange opposite Ram Charan, which too received poor reviews from critics, but a critic from Rediff.com praised her portrayal and chemistry with Charan. In her final film of the year, she appeared in the Tamil film Uthama Puthiran opposite Dhanush, a remake of her film Ready. The film became a moderate success. A critic from The Times of India found her getting "stereotyped" in a similar role of a bubbly girl.

Critical acclaim, hiatus and production (2011–2021)


In her first release of 2011, D'Souza made her Malayalam film debut, starring as the Muslim warrior princess Arackal Ayesha, in Urumi alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film is about a fictional story happening in Calicut, Kerala during the 15th century, about a boy who plots to assassinate the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. For her role, she learned horse riding, and spent two weeks of training to use the sword, the short stick, and movements of the Dravidian martial art, Kalarippayattu. It was a major commercial and critical success, with The New Indian Express stating: "Genelia breaks her perpetual imbecility morphing into Ayesha, the warrior princess. Her character is not reduced to the customary cheer-leader role and she claims an equal share of valour and gallantry." She next played an independent woman in the Hindi film, Force opposite John Abraham, which received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success. In his review for Bollywood Hungama, Taran Adarsh found D'Souza to be "strikingly sweet and subdued". Later, she played a journalist alongside Vijay in the Tamil film Velayudham, which was commercially successful. CNN-IBN in its review noted that D'Souza got a substantial role and fits in it "adequately".

In 2012, D'Souza first reunited with Deshmukh in the Hindi film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. A critic from NDTV stated that she delivers an "energetic performance" as Mini. It became a box office success. Later that year, she appeared opposite Rana Daggubati in the Telugu film, Naa Ishtam, which was a moderate success. In its review, The Times of India stated the she performs her role with "panache". Following Naa Ishtam, D'Souza took a break from full time acting and appeared only in cameo roles in films such as the Hindi film, Jai Ho and the Marathi film, Lai Bhaari both in 2014. In 2016, she reprised her role in Force 2, a sequel of Force, appearing as the ghost of Maya.

D'Souza with her husband Riteish Deshmukh started their production company, Mumbai Film Company in 2018. She became producer with her husband's Marathi film Mauli, where she also appeared in a song. In 2020, her much delayed Hindi remake of Bommarillu, It's My Life was released directly on Zee Cinema, where she appeared opposite Harman Baweja.

Comeback and expansion (2022–present)
D'Souza made her comeback to full time acting after 10 years with the 2022 film, Mister Mummy opposite Deshmukh. She played a woman who finds out her husband is pregnant with their child. The film received negative reviews and failed at the box office. That year, she made her Marathi film debut with Ved, where D'Souza played a wife whose husband is still in love with his lover, opposite Deshmukh who also directed the film. The film received positive response and emerged as the highest-grossing Marathi film of the year. Mayur Sanap opined: "Genelia has a luminous presence and conveys more with her expressions than dialogues." D'Souza also won several accolades including a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Marathi.

D'Souza played a single mother who orders a father for her son on a 30-day trial period, in her only film of 2023, Trial Period opposite Manav Kaul. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in noted: "Genelia Deshmukh turn out lovely performance, either as a make-believe couple [with Kaul] or as individual trying to do what is best for Romi."

D'Souza will next appear opposite Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par. She will also make her comeback to Telugu and Kannada cinema, with the bilingual film Junior.

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. In an interview with The Times of India, she comments, "I keep a Novena every Wednesday at St. Michael's Church in Mahim." 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."

Tabloids repeatedly linked D'Souza romantically with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they starred together in their debut film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. They were reportedly ready to get engaged, but Ritesh's father, the then–Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not agree. D'Souza later denied any rumours of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that she was just friends with him. However, the couple eventually got married on 3 February 2012, according to Marathi marriage traditions in a Hindu wedding ceremony, they had a Christian wedding in the church on next day. The couple's first child, a son named Riaan, was born on 25 November 2014. Their second son, Rahyl, was born on 1 June 2016.

Off-screen work
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. She was one of the judges at the grand finale of Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt 2009 contest on 28 March 2009. She also walked the ramp alongside Tushar Kapoor for fashion designer Manish Malhotra at the Lakme Fashion Week 2009 on 28 March 2009. On 5 April 2009, D'Souza was among several Hindi film celebrities to perform at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 finale in Mumbai. 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. On 24 October 2009, D'Souza began hosting Big Switch, a television show based on slum kids to reach a bigger audience.

D'Souza has been the brand ambassador of Fanta, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack, LG Mobiles, Garnier Light, Margo, and Perk in India. She has unveiled Spinz Black Magic deodorant on 7 October 2009 in Mumbai, and the Ceres Store retail outlet. At the Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW) in December 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for designer Ishita Singh's spring–summer indigenous collection of 2010. D'Souza holds a Limca world record of delivering four successful [super hit] films in four different languages: Ready (Telugu), Satya in Love (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniam (Tamil) and Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (Hindi), in a span of one calendar year.

She was a part of online market portal eBay's 2010 "Dream House" challenge, where she transformed an empty three–room apartment in Bandra into an attractive home with online shopping. She had been provided a budget of inr 450000 and two weeks to create a look she wants with items on sale on the website. On the occasion of Children's Day (14 November), D'Souza auctioned a few items from the apartment. All proceeds received from the auction was given to Aseema, a Non–governmental organisation (NGO), which aims to provide education to underprivileged children.

In the media
D'Souza has been often tagged in the media as the "bubbly girl", after portraying the role of a young energetic girl in several movies, particularly in Bommarillu (2006) and Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008). She appeared alongside Shahid Kapoor on the fourth episode of Tere Mere Beach Mein, a celebrity chat show, hosted by Farah Khan. The theme of the show was "Second Innings", since both D'Souza and Kapoor had the same history of failures initially and success later in their acting careers. In June 2010, D'Souza was crowned as the "Brand Ambassador of the Year" at the CNBC Awaaz consumer awards, for endorsing nine brands. She is now the brand ambassador of the soft drink Fanta (replacing Rani Mukherjee), the chocolate Perk (replacing Preity Zinta), Virgin Mobile India (along with Ranbir Kapoor), Fastrack watches and accessories, LG mobiles (along with John Abraham and Abhay Deol), Garnier Light fairness cream, Dabur Vatika hair oil, Margo soap, and Spinz deodorant.

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. Several Hindi film 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. 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.

In 2011, a controversy broke out for her film Force, in a wedding sequence scene of herself and John Abraham. Sources claim that the wedding ceremony and rituals conducted were so authentic that they would have actually been husband and wife in real life. Instead of a junior artiste, a real priest was called for the scene. Again, following the reports of Ritesh Deshmukh and D'Souza's marriage plans, the priest landed up at producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah's office to register a complaint. He insisted that the couple couldn't get married, as D'Souza has been already married to John Abraham, as all marriage rituals were observed, from wearing a mangalsutra (a sacred thread is worn by Indian women as a symbol of their marriage), to exchanging garlands, and taking the seven steps around the holy fire. Shah dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt.

Accolades
D'Souza is a recipient of several awards including a Filmfare Award South, two Nandi Awards, two International Indian Film Academy Awards and three Maharashtracha Favourite Kon? Awards. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her film Bommarillu, and won two Nandi Special Jury Award, for Bommarillu and Katha.