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Who knew?

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Cheers to life Imran Khan and Genelia

These days, when Bollywood is delivering more turkeys than hits, the breezy appeal of “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na” has caught the imagination of the movie-goers.

The two new stars, Imran and Genelia, who were on a promotional tour, confess to being touched by the response the film has evoked.

“It has been overwhelming and positive from the very beginning. While I was hoping for a good opening, I had never imagined it would this way. It gives a great feeling,” says Imran, to which the petite Genelia, looking every bit a college kid in her casual blue top, jeans and matching shoes, agrees.

As the talk turns to food, Imran says: “As I have studied in a boarding school, my preference has been towards home-cooked meals, which I enjoy the most. Otherwise, I love to eat all types of cuisine and am quite a foodie, but my metabolism is such that I do not gain weight easily. In fact, because of that I have become quite a good cook and enjoy my role as a chef.”

Genelia responds, “I am a hardcore Indian food fan and love the likes of rajma-chawal. My favourite is yellow dal with a good tadka, but I am not the cooking types — although I know that once I try my hand at it, I will manage to do a good job.”

Imran, with his film lineage, says he always wanted to join films, but as a director, not an actor, and trained at an institute in the U.S. In an industry where looks are everything, he comments, “I am not carried away by the six-pack abs fad, as I have always maintained a good physique. I do weight training five-six days a week for about two hours.”

Genelia confesses, “I am not into a heavy-duty exercise regime, but I do some light exercises and enjoy jogging. But I make it a point to have a well-balanced diet, which, of late, has been high on proteins.”

While Genelia prefers to watch cinema “that allows one to chill after a hard day’s grind,” Imran likes “thrillers. It so happens that both my forthcoming releases, ‘Kidnap’ (directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and scheduled for an October release), and ‘Luck’ (directed by Soham) are thrillers.”

Back to “Jaane Tu…”, Imran points out that the average age of those associated with the film was 20, and there were several first-timers too. “Everyone was passionate about their work and the absence of any hierarchy gave the feeling of working on a film school project.”

As they soak in the adulation, Imran says: “The success of any genre depends on the merits of the film. I feel the industry at present is in the throes of a renaissance, with a new bunch of talented people coming in. This, along with the changing audience profile will lead to higher standards of filmmaking.”

APS MALHOTRA

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