Genelia D’Souza had so far been perceived as an actress who had failed to make her presence felt in Bollywood. However, now with two back-to-back films - Mere Baap Pehle Aap andJaane Tu… ya jaane na - she seems to be  raring to go.

“I had won an award for my Telugu film Bommarillu. Priyan Sir had noticed that. That’s how I got Mere Baap Pehle Aap. However, for Aamir Khan’s film I had been screen-tested a year before the shooting commenced. I was too busy down South. However, as I had been working non-stop, I decided to take a month’s break and come to Mumbai. The day I was supposed to come back, I got a call from Aamir Khan’s office saying they wanted to meet me and a week later, I was on board,” she says.

But what kept her away from Bollywood for so long? Though she’s been a part of the film industry for almost five years, she had just two Bollywood releases, “Well, films were not on my agenda. When they happened, it took me a while to realise where I was heading towards. Initially it was just the excitement of being a star. After having done a few films, I have fallen in love with the industry,” she says. 

  “Aamir Khan Productions make you feel you are worth it. They don’t sign you just after one screen test because they like your face. You have to give your best shot at the screen test. Aamir tests everyone, whether it’s Imran, me or anyone else. And finally when you bag the role, it’s highly satisfying because you’ve been through the grind. You feel you are fit for the role and might as well give it all that you have.”

With Aamir comparing her to Juhi, does she feel that she and Imran have what it takes to re-create the Aamir-Juhi chemistry? “We are hoping to recreate at least 0.1 per cent of that chemistry. Imran and I hit it off from the day we met. We hardly chatted or spoke initially. But then as shooting progressed, we became friends. And today Imran is my best friend,” she says.

Genelia also has a very high regard for Abbas, who she feels is a ‘brilliant actor’. “While narrating any sequence, he used to sub-consciously act it out. That made our task much easier.”

She was also once linked with her co-star Ritiesh Deshmukh. Ask her about these rumours, and she says there’s absolutely nothing brewing. “I and Ritiesh are good friends. We have been always clear that there’s nothing happening.”