Genelia Deshmukh, who recently starred opposite Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par, expressed her shock and disbelief over Vijay's exit from acting in films. In an interview with Rednool to discuss about her journey in the Tamil film industry, the actor hoped that Vijay would continue acting in a few films even after his active entry to politics.
"I knew he was into politics, but did he quit completely," asked a surprised Genelia. "I am a film lover myself and we've loved Vijay sir and his work. I have been fortunate to do two films with him. I hope he comes back here and there. Till then, he has all our best wishes to whatever he is doing and wherever he is," she added. Genelia and Vijay had acted in Sachein and Velayudham (2011) together.
Elsewhere in the interview, Genelia also spoke highly about her other co-star Ravi Mohan, stating that he is like "family" to her. She also described Mohan Raja as a "sweet" person. "I am fond of both of them," she said. Genelia also recollected her friendship with Dhanush and Simbu and highlighted how the South Indian film industry treated her well and made her feel at home. "The South is my home. I had full-fledged and solid roles. I was working 365 days a year and juggled roles in multiple languages. I enjoyed the time. I didn't have too many demands. But I felt that I needed a break after marriage. I was very clear that I wanted to be my kids' first point of contact," she explained.
Genelia and Vijay's Sachein was re-released in April in theatres amid much fanfare. The film saw success and was celebrated by audiences and fans. At the time, she addressed fans and thanked them for making Sachein a blockbuster. She said, "I had an unbelievable experience shooting for the film. Your Thalapathy, how cute and sweet is he? I want to thank all the Thalapathy fans from the bottom of my heart for making Sachein’s rerelease such a festival. I hope you enjoy it because it is extremely close to your heart, and I’m sure it is to yours too."
Genelia Deshmukh had an illustrous career in multiple languages since she starred in Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003) with Riteish Deshmukh where both were debutants. She went on to cement her place in the South film industry with films like Boys (2003), Sachein (2005) which recently had a re-release, Happy (2006), Bommarillu (2006) and its Tamil remake Santosh Subramaniam (2008), Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), Chance Pe Dance (2010), Urumi (2011), and Velayudham (2011), among other films.
After 2012, she took a break from full-time acting to concentrate on her family life. After a handful of cameo roles, she returned to screen in 2022 with Mister Mummy opposite Riteish Deshmukh. That year, she made her Marathi film debut with Ved which was the official remake of 2019 Telugu film Majili. The film went on to become the highest-grossing Marathi film of the year. In her only film of 2023, she starred in Trial Period opposite Manav Kaul.
Her recent film Sitaare Zameen Par, directed by RS Prasanna, features new actors like Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar, who play differently abled characters. The film is a spiritual sequel to Aamir’s 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. The film was met with positive reviews from audiences and critics.
