Ente Malayalam nallathanu. Eniku Malayalam samsarikkan ariyam, when Gizele Thakral, the pretty model and Bollywood actress talks in clear accent, one may go stunned for a moment. Sensing it, she clears the air. “My mother Poonam Thakral is from Alappuzha. Her name was Ponnamma; post marriage it was changed to Poonam. Her mother was a Hindu and father, a Roman Catholic. My badima (mother’s elder sister) Thankamma lives in Alappuzha and I visit her often. I love the greenery of Kerala—- its rich culture and delicious food,” says Gizele, who was born in Rajasthan and brought up aboard. Right now, she lives in Mumbai.
“My father was a Punjabi. I lost him at a very young age,” she says. Gizele’s stint with modelling and acting started at a very young age. She kicked off her modelling career when she was just 13. She was crowned as Miss Rajasthan while studying in class IX.
Her passion grew up with her. She walked on the ramp for international shows and as aspired, landed in Bollywood. “Acting is something I always wanted to do. In Bollywood, it is easy for a model to get an entry.”
However, unlike others, she debuted with adult comedies — Mastizaade and then Kya Kool Hain Hum 3. “By that time, we had moved to Mumbai. One day, I got a call from the Mastizadee director on Facebook asking whether I would like to do a movie. I thought it was just another call we get from Facebook friends and didn’t pay much attention to it. But he called me. Realising that he is a reputed director, I thought of giving it a shot. Thus, I did a cameo appearance in Mastizaade. It was he who suggested my name for Kya Kool Hain Hum 3,” Gizele explains her Bollywood entry. But, she got a pretty good role in Kya Kool. And, she has no qualms for opting for adult comedies.
“I am neither a big star nor have a filmy background to boast of. Hence, I cannot be choosy in the beginning of my career. But for me, the reputation of the production company matters a lot. If the same genre had been offered by a small production, I wouldn’t have accepted that,” says the Big Boss 9 beauty.
The transition from modelling to movies has not been difficult for Gizele. “Be it modelling or acting, you are facing the camera. In real life too, I am a very creative, dramatic and expressive person,” says Gizele, an admirer of Mollywood.
“Actors in Mollywood are versatile and its films have got deep storylines. When you watch a Malayalam movie, you walk with the characters. Also here, comedy is superb. I like movies of Dileep,” she smiles.
It seems Gizele closely observes Mollywood. Raai Laxmi is her good friend. “I learnt Malayalam by watching the movies. My mother always watches them. She is a fan of Mammotty sir. But, Mohanlal-ji is my favourite; he is a perfect actor. It is very inspiring and entertaining watching him acting. I like the Mohanlal-Sobhana jodi very much. I like some of Mohanlalji’s dialogues. Sometimes, I enact them in front of my mother and she would burst out laughing,” Gizele laughs.
“Now, I really like Prithviraj. Recently, I watched his movie Picket 43,” adds Gizele, who is looking forward to sharing screen space with Mohanlal and Prithviraj.
And, she laments on the demise of Kalpana and Kalabhavan Mani. “Kalpanaji was one of my favourite actors. I was shocked to hear about the demise of her and Maniji. It is sad to see young talents departing.”
Gizele’s next B’town project — a thriller — will start rolling soon. Meanwhile, she is also doing a web series Badman, in which she plays ‘Gizele Thakral-the hot sensation’. “It is a Viacom project and will see many veteran actors like Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, and Farah Khan in cameo roles.” Any other offers? “I have got one from Telugu. I definitely want to do a south project. But Malayalam is my priority,” she sums up.
