Even though the now-married couple have been sharing sizzling chemistry off screen for close on a decade, Riteish Deshmukh was worried whether it would indeed be a good idea for him and Genelia d’Souza to pair up for the screen. Needless to say, he was a tad scared before stepping into Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya.

A friend of the actor said: “It is one thing to be in love in real life and totally different to bring the right chemistry on screen.

“There have been too many real life jodis (couples) in the past that have failed to create any magic whatsoever when seen on screen.”

These apprehensions weren’t really uncalled for if one goes by recent history. When Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor came together for Kurbaan, the outcome was hardly sizzling, even though they are now trying to make amends with Agent Vinod.

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan couldn’t score a box office success either with Raavan. Also, not too long ago, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif delivered one of their biggest duds in the form of Yuvraaj.

“Gone are the times when a Dharmendra-Hema Malini film would work just because the two came together on screen. Today’s audience has much higher demands and constant exposure to media through various forums and events means a real-life jodi has to do something extraordinary on the big screen to entice audiences enough. Just a mere presence isn’t good enough,” comments an industry veteran.

Deshmukh, too, had this in mind and double-checked the film’s script with D’Souza before consenting to do it. Moreover, since they were doing a film together eight years after Masti, they wanted it to be nothing less than perfect.

Deshmukh, in particular, wanted to be all the more sure since this is his first solo Hindi film in a long time.

“Yes, Genelia (and) I were scared and apprehensive about doing this film as a pair. We were worried if the chemistry would really come across well on screen,” Deshmukh confesses. “So many times we see real-life couples on screen and they don’t look as in real life.

“A lot is to actually do with the character you are playing. We are fortunate, though, that Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya had enough for us to do and bring on the chemistry. However, let me add that the way we would be seen in the film isn’t even remotely close to what we are in real life.”

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya is a romantic comedy directed by Mandeep Kumar. This is the third film the couple have starred in, after their debut together in the 2003 box office disaster Tujhe Meri Kasam and commercially successful Masti in 2004.

It is also their first on-screen pairing after their marriage. Diljit Dosanjh and Veena Malik appear in cameo roles.

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya is jointly produced by Tips Industries and UTV Motion Pictures. It is expected to hit theatres on February 24.

The world will always welcome love stories, they say, especially if they are funny, crazy and unconventional. Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya is an endearing tale of how unusual circumstances bring people together and change their lives in ways they could have never imagined.

Meet Mini (D’Souza), a beautiful free-spirited tomboy who has what it takes to make her an extremely eligible bachelorette in the eyes of many local boys – a passport to Canada – and a heir to her father Bhatti’s business.

Bhatti (Tinu Anand), who is hell-bent on marrying her off as soon as possible, is also wide-eyed when it comes to money.

After having brought up his daughter single-handedly, he is now looking for the best marriage proposal.

But then Mini meets mild-mannered Viren (Deshmukh), one of Bhatti’s lowly employees. Seizing the opportunity to escape her impending marriage, she flees with Viren in an apparent kidnapping. A romance developing between the unlikely couple leads to a dramatic climax. – bollywoodhungama.com