Genelia D'Souza thanks her ‘pops’ for encouraging her to grow up with sports

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Actress Genelia D'Souza has penned a heartfelt birthday note for her father, Neil D'Souza. In her post, she thanked her father for encouraging her to grow up with sports and for teaching her to never give up in life. Taking to her Instagram handle, Genelia shared her happy photos with her daddy and wrote, “I didn’t grow up with satin bows and rainbows I grew up with sports, which back then no one encouraged their daughters to do because it wasn’t considered girly enough..” The ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’ actress added, “Thank you Pops for coming with me all those early morning practises and insisting I did it, even though there were times I wanted to give up - But what I didn’t know was, I was getting was life lessons and I can see what a big impact it has on my mindset .. If the going gets tough- You get tougher - was what my dad not just taught me but showed me Happy Birthday Pops Championing through life is what I learned from you I Love you - Your Little Gurl Always Thank you Pops Thank you Pops for just being there.”

Riteish Deshmukh also wished his father-in-law with a sweet post. Sharing his photo with him, the actor captioned, “Happy Birthday Pops !!! Your fighting spirit is a great inspiration to me. Thank you for showering unconditional love and sharing invaluable life lessons. May god bless you with great health and long life. #NeilDsouza.” Genelia’s father, Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services. Her mother, Jeanette D'Souza, was the managing director at a multinational pharmaceutical corporation. In 2004, she left her job to support Genelia in her career. The actress also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza, who works at the Bombay Stock Exchange. On the work front, Genelia returned to acting after a 10-year break in Marathi film, “Ved.” She featured alongside her husband, Riteish Deshmukh, who made his directorial debut with the film.