Genelia D'Souza

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.[18] 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.[21] 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 (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu).[22]

D'Souza's professional film career began,[23] with her Hindi film debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.[9] Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "D'Souza is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core."[24] The film was a box–office success.[25] However, it could not do much to propel her career in Hindi cinema.[26][27] Later, she decided to act in South Indian films.[6] 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,[28] and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers.[21] 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.[29] Sify noted in their review that, "D'Souza is excellent as her body language is her major asset."[30] The film was well received,[31] and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.[21]

In 2004, D'Souza appeared in her second Hindi film, Masti. 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.[32] 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."[33] The film was a box–office success.[34] The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba,[35] and Sye,[36] both succeeding at the box–office.[37]

After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein.[38] A review in The Hindu noted, "D'Souza, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein."[39] The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation.[40] She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic film Subhash Chandra Bose.[41]

The year 2006 marked a significant turning point in D'Souza's career.[42] She completed two Telugu movies in early 2006, one was the romantic comedy Happy, and the other was Raam.[43] She then portrayed the role of Haasini, a vibrant, effervescent and a happy–go–lucky young girl, in the 2006 Telugu romantic comedy Bommarillu. The film was a blockbuster at the box–office,[44][45] and grossed ₹250 million (US$3.1 million) in India,[46] and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award.[47] Her performance received high praise,[48] and garnered her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress,[14] besides the Nandi Special Jury Award and the Santosham Award for Best Actress.[42] 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."[49]

Genelia at HDIL India Couture Week

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.[50] Rediff.com criticized 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."[50] Shortly afterwards in 2007, D'Souza played the role of sister of a notorious gangster in the blockbuster Telugu film Dhee,[51] set against a gang war backdrop.[52]

The following year, D'Souza appeared in the 2008 Telugu romantic thriller Mr. Medhavi, in which she portrayed the role of a student from Canada. The film was successful,[53] with Rediff.com complimenting her performance saying, "D'Souza is her effervescent self – full of joie–de–vivre and lights up the screen."[54] She made her Kannada debut in Satya in Love the same year.[55] Later, she was cast in a leading role in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu. The film also turned out to be rather successful as its predecessor.[53] Sify described D'Souza's portrayal as "the soul of the film" and the film's "biggest strength",[56] however Rediff.com described her character as "appears a little too good to be true."[57]

In June 2008, following a nearly 5–year hiatus in Hindi cinema, she appeared in Mere Baap Pehle Aap,[58] which failed to make profit at the box–office.[59] A Rediff review noted, "besides her apparent cuteness, brings in tons of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play",[60] while a Sify review criticized her stating, "D'Souza is sprightly but has a standard two–three expressions bank in this film."[61] She later appeared in the Telugu love story Ready alongside Ram, which was well received.[53][62]

Her breakthrough performance came with the blockbuster romantic comedy–drama Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008), in which she portrayed the central character of Aditi Mahant, which was a major commercial success across India and overseas, grossing ₹564 million (US$7.1 million).[63] 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".[64]

In that same year, D'Souza acted in the Telugu romantic comedy Sasirekha Parinayam.[65] The film received favorable reviews, and Sify noted in their review that, "The life of the film is definitely D'Souza and she has shown the varied emotions from innocence, sadness, romance and anger in equal proportions without a hitch."[66]

In 2009, D'Souza was cast in the Hindi film Life Partner, in which she was criticized for her performance. Indian film 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."[67] Her next appearance in 2009 was in the Telugu thriller Katha, which was well received,[53] and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award.[68] In 2010, D'Souza appeared in Chance Pe Dance and Orange, both receiving poor reviews from critics, but her Uthama Puthiran was a moderate success in Tamil.[69][70]

D'Souza in 2012

D'Souza had a major role in 2011, starring as the Muslim warrior princess Arackal Ayesha, in her debut Malayalam film Urumi. 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.[71] 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.[72] The film portrayed her image makeover from a typical girl–next–door roles to more serious roles.[73][74][75] Her next appearance was in the Hindi action thriller Force, which received mixed reviews from critics,[76] with Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama noting that D'Souza is strikingly sweet and subdued.[77] She played the role of a journalist alongside leading actor Vijay in Velayudham, which was also commercially successful.[78] She appeared in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and Naa Ishtam in 2012[79] and in cameo appearances in Jai Ho and Lai Bhaari in 2014. In 2016, she appeared in a cameo role of Maya in Force 2.

D'Souza became producer for her husband's Marathi film Mauli, where she also appeared in a song.

D'Souza will make her comeback to full time acting after 10 years with Riteish in Bhushan Kumar's Mister Mummy,[80] star in the Marathi film Ved directed by Riteish,[81] and will also return to South industry after 10 years with a Telugu–Kannada bilingual, film Production No.15.[82]

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.[115] 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.[116] 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.[115]

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.[117] 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.[118] Shah dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt.[119]