So convincing was Giselle Monteiro in her performance as Harleen Kaur exchanging sweet nothings with the Jat Sardar (played by Saif Ali Khan) in Love Aaj Kal that she would have been forever known as a Punjabi kudi if not for the declaration by the makers of the film, after its release, that Giselle was in fact a Brazilian model-turned actress.
Now, she will be seen portraying the character of an NRI in the movie, Always Kabhi Kabhi. When asked if language and setting were proving to be a disadvantage; Giselle surprisingly replied that, “It is a very comfortable role for me. I have been lucky in Bollywood. Despite the language being alien to me, the roles are such that I can get away with this handicap. In Always Kabhi Kabhi, I speak a mix of Hindi and English (Hinglish) which I am told is the spoken language of most Indian teenagers studying in colleges.”
This Shah Rukh Khan production is seemingly a fun campus flick. Is that the kind of film that Giselle was looking forward to immediately after Love Aaj Kal?
“Yes, kind of,” concurs Giselle after a brief pause, “Honestly, in case of Love Aaj Kal I was just plain lucky. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing in the film or what I wanted then as an actress! But Always Kabhi Kabhi is very different. I was comfortable and chilled out while playing my part.”
But one wonders if the pressure on her was more in her second film where she plays a lead role as opposed to Love Aaj Kal wherein it was Deepika Padukone who was the leading lady and Giselle more of an added bonus. Interestingly, in Always Kabhi Kabhi, she is the senior actress against debutant Zoa Morani though both play parallel female leads.
“Well, I don’t really understand the definition of main lead, second lead, central lead, parallel lead, etc. I guess I am yet to get used to this Bollywood terminology and learn the tricks of the trade,” laughs Giselle. On a more serious note she elaborates, “All I know is that there are two parallel stories running in Always Kabhi Kabhi, one with Zoa and the other with me in the lead and of course our respective male partners. All four of us play friends in the film and each of us has his/her own story. It’s about how they all come together. In such a scenario, one doesn’t think much about main leads and all.”
Since the film is an urban college entertainer, Giselle will be seen in chic Western outfits. In fact, Roshan Abbas, the film’s director, has gone on record to state that the pretty Brazilian is all set to make heads turn in a big way!
“Did he really say that?” questions Giselle and continues animatedly, “It is good to hear that. Since the film has a different story and setup as compared to Love Aaj Kal, the outfits worn by me are different too. So yes, no Indian clothes for me this time around!”