Genelia D'Souza Debut and recognition (2003-05) What was Genelia debut film? When Genelia was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, What was the name of her character in that film? decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film Boys. Who decided to cast her in this leading role in 2003? Tamil director, S. Shankar,
Did she have any other roles in 2003?
Besides the leading role in did Tujhe Meri Kasam, did Genelia D'Souza have any other roles in 2003?
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. 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. 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).  Genelia's professional movie career began, with her Bollywood debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Genelia 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 Bollywood. 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 five 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, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset." The movie was well received, and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.  In 2004, Genelia appeared in her second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. Genelia portrayed the character of one of the wives. Taran Adarsh was complimentary of Genelia's role, saying, "Amongst the wives, Genelia is the best, [...] Genelia 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, and Sye, both succeeding at the box-office.  After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein. A review in The Hindu noted, "Genelia, 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 movie Subhash Chandra Bose. CANNOTANSWER
She made her Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in Satyam.
Genelia Deshmukh (née D'Souza; born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil language films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, D'Souza began her acting career with the box-office hit Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. She was recognized for her role in Boys the same year. 

D'Souza 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. In addition to mainstream acting, D'Souza has hosted the television show Big Switch, and has been the brand ambassador of Fanta, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack, LG Mobiles, Garnier Light, Margo, and Perk in India.

She has been part of successful films, including Dhee, Mr. Medhavi, Ready, Katha, Uthamaputhiran, Urumi, Velayudham and the Hindi films Masti and Force. Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, D'Souza is described as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry.

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. She liked sports and studies in college, and was a state level athlete, sprinter, and a national level football player.

D'Souza did her first modeling 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.

Acting career

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 movie. 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 (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu).

D'Souza's professional movie career began, with her Bollywood 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 Bollywood. 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 five 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, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset." The movie was well received, and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.

In 2004, D'Souza appeared in her second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three 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, Genelia is the best, [...] Genelia 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, and Sye, both succeeding at the box-office.

After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein. A review in The Hindu noted, "Genelia, 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 movie Subhash Chandra Bose.

Turning point in South Indian films and recognition (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, and the other was Raam. 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, grossed  in India, and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award. Her character was well received, and garnered her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress, besides Nandi Special Jury Award and Santosham Award for Best Actress. 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."

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. Rediff.com criticized her commenting, "Genelia 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 in 2007, D'Souza played the role of sister of a notorious gangster in the blockbuster Telugu movie Dhee, set against a gang war backdrop.

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 movie was successful, with Rediff.com complimenting her performance saying, "Genelia 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. 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. Sify described Genelia's portrayal as "the soul of the film" and the film's "biggest strength", however Rediff.com described her character as "appears a little too good to be true."

Return to Bollywood, subsequent work and success (2008–2016)

In June 2008, following a nearly five-year hiatus in Bollywood, she appeared in Mere Baap Pehle Aap, which failed to make profit at the box-office. A Rediff review noted, "besides her apparent cuteness, brings in tons of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play", while a Sify review criticized her stating, "Genelia is sprightly but has a standard two-three expressions bank in this film." She later appeared in the Telugu love story Ready alongside Ram, which was well received. 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 . 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". In that same year, D'Souza acted in the Telugu romantic comedy Sasirekha Parinayam. 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."

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." Her next appearance in 2009 was in the Telugu thriller Katha, which was well received, and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award. 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.

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. 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. The movie portrayed her image makeover from typically girl-next-door roles to more serious roles. Her next appearance was in the Bollywood action thriller Force, which received mixed reception from critics, with Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama noting that D'Souza is strikingly sweet and subdued. She played the role of a journalist alongside leading actor Vijay in Velayudham, which was also commercially successful. She appeared in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and Naa Ishtam in 2012 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.

Role as producer and return to acting (2018–present) 
Genelia became producer for her husband's Marathi film Mauli, where she also appeared in a song.

She will make her comeback to full time acting after 10 years, with her Marathi film debut Vedd, which will be directed by Riteish Deshmukh. She will also appear alongside Riteish in Bhushan Kumar's Mister Mummy.

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 rumors of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that she had just friendly relations 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.

Other work and events
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 Bollywood 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 on UTV Bindass channel to reach a bigger audience.

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. She also holds a Limca world record of delivering four different 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  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 organization (NGO), which aims to provide education to underprivileged children.

Reception

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, especially Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Bommarillu. 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 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. 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.

Filmography

As actor

As producer

Awards and nominations

See also

 List of Bollywood actresses

References

External links

 
 
 
 Genelia D'Souza at Yahoo! Movies

Living people
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Indian film actresses
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Indian Roman Catholics
Athletes from Mumbai
1987 births
St. Andrew's College of Arts, Science and Commerce alumni
Indian women television presenters
Indian television presenters
Actresses in Kannada cinema
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Filmfare Awards South winners
21st-century Indian actresses
Marathi people
People from Marathwada
Kalarippayattu practitioners
Indian female martial artists
Sportswomen from Maharashtra
21st-century Indian women
21st-century Indian people
Actresses from Mumbai
Female models from Mumbai
Kandala Venkata Pushpavalli Tayaramma (3 January 1926 – 28 April 1991), better known as Pushpavalli, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu films. Her film work includes title roles in Miss Malini (1947), and the Telugu film Satyabhama..

Initially married to I V Rangachari, Pushpavalli became the lover of the actor Gemini Ganeshan. She had two daughters with Ganeshan, Rekha and Radha. Her elder daughter is the Hindi actress Rekha.

Biography
Pushpavalli was born into the Kandala family to Kandala Ramakotamma and Kandala Thathachary in Pentapadu village of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh (at that time in Madras Presidency). She entered the film industry as a child actress, credited as Pushpavalli Tayaramma, with a small role as young Sita in the film Sampoorna Ramayanam (1936, 8 August), shot in Rajamundry in the first Studio in Andhra Region, Durga Cinitone, which was released when she was only nine years old. She was paid Rs 300/- for a three-day shoot, which was a princely sum in those days. This was followed by a few more roles as child star, and Pushpavalli's income became important to her family. Due to these preoccupations, she spent significant time in film shooting, she missed out on schooling and had only a rudimentary education. She married a Lawyer named I V Rangachari in about 1940. However, the marriage did not last (circumstances are not known) and they began living apart from 1946.

Pushpavalli graduated to doing adult roles with hardly any break from playing a child star. This was a necessity, because acting was the source of income for the family, and she could not afford to take a break. However, this continuity may have affected her acting career, and she was never really accepted as a leading lady. She did only a few roles as heroine, and in between did many films where she played the second lead. In all, she acted in around 20-25 Telugu and Tamil films (including child roles) and met with only moderate success. She was never a top-level star, nor did she receive any critical acclaim for her acting talents. Perhaps her biggest hit was the Telugu film Bala Nagamma (1942), where she played an important supporting role. Her 1947 film Miss Malini, where she played the lead role, received great critical acclaim from the intelligentsia, but flopped at the box office.

Miss Malini (1947) also marked the acting debut of Gemini Ganesan, her future consort. Pushpavalli next worked with Ganesan in the Tamil film Chakradhari (1948), where she was the heroine, and he played a small role. After this point, the situation reversed; Ganesan became a huge star and Pushpavalli started getting only supporting roles, her films as heroine having mostly flopped. She did a few more films with Ganesan, the two got along very well together, and entered into a relationship, despite the fact that both of them were married to other people (Ganesan had married his first wife Alamelu, known informally as Bobji, at a very young age and would remain married to Bobji until his death).

Pushpavalli and Ganesan had two daughters together in quick succession. The eldest of them is the Bollywood actress Rekha (born in 1954) and the younger is Radha, who briefly worked in Tamil movies before marrying and moving to the United States. Ganesan did not acknowledge paternity of the girls for several years, and was only an occasional visitor to Pushpavalli's house. The relationship deteriorated quickly and the couple was soon estranged. As early as 1955, before the birth of Radha, Ganesan had secretly married the famous actress Savitri, and that relationship was publicly acknowledged as a valid marriage. This was possible because until 1956, it was legally permissible for a Hindu man to have more than one wife. Since Savitri was unmarried, it was possible for her to become Ganesan's legal second wife. Since Pushpavalli was still legally married to Rangachari (divorce was not available to Hindus at all until 1956), that option was not available to her and it was impossible for her to marry anyone else. Some sources say Pushpavalli and Ganesan were married in Tirupathi.

After being estranged from Ganesan, Pushpavalli did a few more films, mostly minor roles, including a couple of Hindi films made by her old associates in the south Indian film industry. She did these roles in order to support her daughters, whom she brought up single-handedly in a very frugal way. The fact that Rekha became so successful in films was a source of great satisfaction to her, as was the fact that her second daughter, Radha settled very respectably in marriage to Syed Usman, a former Bollywood model in 1976. They reside in USA.

Pushpavalli died in 1991 of ailments associated with diabetes in Madras. She was survived by her 5 children including a son Babji, and daughters Rama, Dhanalakshmi and two daughters, Rekha and Radha by Gemini Ganesan.

Filmography

References

External links
 

Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Indian film actresses
20th-century Indian actresses
Place of birth missing
1926 births
Place of death missing
1991 deaths
Actresses from Andhra Pradesh
People from West Godavari district Jan Therese D'Arcy is an American television and film actress born on June 18, 1939 in Oneida, New York, with a career spanning almost five decades. She is best known for playing Sylvia Horne in Twin Peaks, and her roles in many other television series and movies including The X-Files and Alive.

Career

Television series

Twin Peaks 
She is best known for playing Sylvia Horne in Twin Peaks, appearing in the hit cult original 1990 series on ABC. She was in four significant episodes, including the very first one, the Pilot, and the then final episode, both key episodes directed by David Lynch.

She was also due to appear in the 1992 movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, with her character appearing in the original script, but did not as Richard Beymer - who played her character's husband, Benjamin Horne - and Sherilyn Fenn - who portrayed her on-screen daughter, Audrey Horne - chose not to return and the scenes featuring the Horne Family were written out. Many databases add the movie to her list of roles as "scenes deleted", but she didn't film any.

Twenty-five years later, she returned to the role in the Showtime 2017 revival, Twin Peaks: The Return, appearing in two episodes.

The X-Files and other roles 
She cemented her sci-fi cult status by also playing Judge Kann in the Tooms episode of The X-Files and her roles in The Outer Limits, M.A.N.T.I.S, Arrow, and Highlander (as Betty Bannen).

Her TV legacy includes roles in many other major TV shows, including: The Commish, L.A. Law, 21 Jump Street, Jake and the Fatman, Hot Pursuit, and Wiseguy.

Films 
She has appeared in several made-for-TV films, including: Better Off Dead, No Child of Mine, The Other Mother, The Danger of Love, High Stakes, and Relic.

She has also been in many feature films. Her debut role was in the Stockard Channing movie, Sweet Revenge (1976). She was in Why Would I Lie? (1980), the major true story movie Alive (1993), Keoni Waxman's Countdown (1996), and will be in Allen Wolf's upcoming movie The Sound of Violet, which is due to be released in 2022.

Personal life 
She has five children. She has a BA from Catholic University America (1960) and an MA from University of California at Los Angeles (1961).

References

External links

Living people
1939 births 
American film actresses
American television actresses
21st-century American women