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, Genelia 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."