Genelia D’Souza, known for her roles in films like "Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na" and soon to be seen in "Sitaare Zameen Par" alongside Aamir Khan, has finally addressed the long-standing rumors about her supposed "accidental marriage" to John Abraham during the filming of their 2011 film, "Force."

The bizarre story, which first surfaced in 2012, claimed that a real Hindu priest, brought in to lend authenticity to a wedding scene, had inadvertently performed a complete and legitimate wedding ceremony. This included traditional rituals like chanting mantras, exchanging garlands, the tying of a mangalsutra, and the seven pheras (vows). The rumor mill went into overdrive, with many believing that Genelia and John were technically and legally married.

In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Genelia finally set the record straight. "There was no truth to it," she stated firmly. "We didn't get married. These stories were spread by PR, and I think you should ask them why they did it.” She clarified that the entire buzz was a publicity stunt orchestrated by PR teams, with neither she nor John Abraham having any involvement.

Adding fuel to the fire at the time, reports claimed that Pandit Bhagwat Guruji, the priest in question, insisted that he had performed a proper marriage ceremony, complete with all the necessary rituals. However, Genelia has consistently denied these claims.

Producer Vipul Shah also weighed in on the matter years ago, explaining that the decision to hire a real priest was driven by director Nishikant Kamat's desire for realism. "This is the price we paid for my director's love for realism," Shah said. "How could we have known the priest would later claim he'd done a real wedding?" He also expressed concern that some groups might try to create unnecessary controversy, pointing out that Genelia is Christian, making Hindu wedding rituals inapplicable to her. Shah also refuted the idea that the incident was a publicity stunt. "Why would I do this for publicity? If that were my aim, I could have easily roped in a Hindu organization myself. I even turned down several news channels who wanted to run special features on this so-called marriage," he stated.

Genelia, who has been happily married to actor Riteish Deshmukh since 2012, with whom she shares two children, found the persistence of these rumors quite strange. She has largely stayed away from controversies throughout her career, making this episode particularly unusual.

Currently, Genelia is gearing up for her Bollywood comeback with "Sitaare Zameen Par," a film described as a spiritual sequel to Aamir Khan's acclaimed "Taare Zameen Par" (2007). Aamir Khan also introduced Genelia to Hindi cinema back in 2008, casting her opposite his nephew Imran Khan in the hit rom-com "Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na." The film is slated to release on June 20, 2025.

Recently, Aamir Khan and Genelia D'Souza's pairing in "Sitaare Zameen Par" has generated buzz, with Aamir addressing their age gap in the film. He noted that technology and changing audience perceptions have made age less of a barrier for actors on screen. Aamir is 60 years old and Genelia is 37 years old.

Genelia's return to the screen also comes after a decade-long break from the film industry, a decision she made after marrying Riteish Deshmukh. She has spoken about being discouraged from making a comeback, with some suggesting it "won't work." However, she proved her critics wrong with her successful Marathi film "Ved," which also marked Riteish Deshmukh's directorial debut.