Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Harleen of Love Aaj Kal is a Brazilian model

Every person who has watched Love Aaj Kal is all ga-ga over the innocent looking Punjabi girl opposite Saif. Guess what, she is a Brazilian model named Giselle Monteiro who couldn’t even speak Hindi when she started off!

Director Imtiaz Ali says, “She is actually a Brazilian girl named Giselle Monteiro. Why a Brazilian girl to play an old-fashioned Punjabi girl? Well, I was auditioning girls from all over the country to play the Punjabi girl opposite the Sikh Saif. I couldn’t find the right girl to play the 1965 ki ‘gali mein rehne wali ladki, purane zamane ki’.”

“Giselle came to me through dress designer Anaita Shroff. She was to play Jo, Saif’s Caucasian girlfriend in the second half. She wasn’t right for Jo.I turned and looked at Giselle and realised she is Brazil’s Harleen.”

Giselle had no idea about Bollywood dancing either, Imtiaz Ali adds, “We wanted to put her through the paces with Saroj ji (choreographer Saroj Khan), but it never happened. Saroj ji didn’t have the time. For a foreigner to get the Indian ‘adaa’ right is very tough.”

She did it all and she did it well!

No comments:

Post a Comment