Harleen from Love Aaj Kal is a Brazilian

Anyone whos seen Love Aaj Kal, has come away wondering who Harleen is.

Her name hasnt appeared in the credits. Evidently theres a good reason for it. This Punjabi kudi isnt a Punjabi kudi at all. Shes a 19-year-old Brazilian model called Giselle Monteiro who couldnt speak Hindi or dance to save her life, at one point in time. And director Imtiaz Ali didnt want to let out that a Brazilian was playing his Punjabi kudi — and so put off audiences.

In the film, shes the one who is wooed and won by the Sardar Saif. And yes, the sequence showing her dancing at her engagement drove the entire unit up the wall. Apparently our Brazilian babe just couldnt get the steps right. Says Imtiaz, We wanted to put her through the paces with Sarojji (choreographer Saroj Khan). But it never happened. Sarojji didnt have the time. For a foreigner to get the Indian adaa right is very tough. We take for granted those nakhra-jhatka-matkas which weve seen our sisters perform at weddings. Indian girls have those adaas without being trained. But for a foreigner it is tough. Giselle couldve done with a bit more training.

Even when Harleen became visible in the trailers she remained inaccessible to the public. Imtiaz says, 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 couldnt find the right girl to play the 1965 ki gali mein rehne wali ladki, purane zamane ki.

Then one day Giselle walked into Imtiazs office for another part. Giselle came to me to play Jo, Saifs Caucasian girlfriend in the second-half. She wasnt right for Jo. But my wife who was there suggested Giselle for Harleen. I turned and looked at Giselle and realised she is Brazils Harleen. She didnt know how to speak Hindi. But she had only two lines to speak, which we dubbed.

Significantly Giselle understood the old-world values of her small-town character better than an urban Indian actress would have. Says Imtiaz, The small-town mentality in every part of the world is similar.

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[kdx723]

yup i heard, indian movies n soaps r pretty popular in brazil....

[jax1492]

they never break the top 10 in america what chart are you looking at?

[BSBcty]

You can find all faces of the world in Brasil ... ummm, I will watch this! I think is a nice movie :D Greetings to India !

[Ocean3589]

Alright no offense, Gisele is gorgeous,so is Barbara Mori, and candice boucher from Azaan and it's good that they're in Bollywood, but why do we need them when our own actresses are in need of work? Poor Preity Zinta,Rani Mukerjhee,Diya Mirza, Neha Dhupia,Ayesha Takia,Lara Dutta,Asin,Karishma,Bispasha,M­inisha Lamba,Tanushree,Udita Goswami just to name a few who are not getting any work can use a few films right now.And they're all good looking.

[MrBillu1954]

Rubish. No good. No good tune.

Punjabi ganne the boonndd mar Ke rakh diti

[MegaGillJatt]

so sexy i like harleen

[jagveerkaurchauhan]

I heard that girl is from brazil.

[gokila85]

She cant act.. neither dance...

perhaps just a model i guess with good looks something like katrina.. just as how katrina is learning and thriving this gal got a long way as well..

[xcheergirl93]

OH WOW lol. shes pretty...can't believe that, she looks so desi!

[IndiAsiaEarth]

wow i would have never guessed that

[dumaatravaie]

Can anyone please upload this full song . .