12 April,2011 10:36 AM IST | | Paya Kamat Samant
Love Aaj Kal's serene and shy Harleen Kaur is just like her character in real life too. Yes, Brazilian model Giselli Monteiro, who made her Bollywood debut opposite Saif Ali Khan, is someone who keeps to herself and likes to focus her energies on work.
Busy with her next romance project that's being produced by SRK, Giselli has spent the longest time in India away from home. She tells CS about things that amuse her in India:
People's connect
Oh I just love the people here. I've travelled to various places for work, but have never stayed for more than two-three months there. This is the longest time I've spent away from home and so I've become close to people. I've got the precious chance of getting to know people and working with different and interesting persons all throughout my stay here. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. I don't know if it is so because I'm a foreigner or whether you guys are accommodating amongst yourselves too. But yes, I do know one thing. If I accompany a friend to her friend's house and the host there offers us dinner, come what may, you are not going to be able to leave that house without that dinner!
Number magic
Adding to this, I'd say another peculiar thing about India is the number of people you see around. I've never seen so many people, expect maybe, in Hong Kong, that too of different beliefs, living peacefully in one place. The day India won the World Cup final, I was strolling along Carter Road with my pet. Within 30 seconds the entire stretch was filled with people. The crowd kept increasing, to the extent that there was a traffic jam till two in the morning. People just jumped out of their cars and kept hugging each other and dancing and cheering loudly. All of them were on the same wavelength and there was so much vibrancy in the air. It was a truly memorable experience.
Finding peace
Next on my list is the diversity that this country presents in the form of its cities. Every city is so different that it feels like you are visiting a different country in itself. I've travelled quite a bit in India, but the place I love the most is the Himalayas. Coming from a Brazilian island, I'm a completely pro-nature person. The peace and beauty of the Himalayas had me spell-bound. In Mumbai, I find my share of peace at Carter Road when the sun is setting. I love to sit on the promenade and watch the sky changing its colour and the sea reflecting the same. It is extremely soothing.
And so on my wishlist is a visit to Kerela. I've been to Goa countless times and Delhi too is a frequent stop because of work. But I'm dying to go to Kerela as I've heard so much about the backwaters and houseboats and the beautiful waterfalls there.
