Giaa Manek is an Indian actress who’s appearance as Gopi Ahem Modi in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2010-2012) and the titular character in Jeannie Aur Juju (2012-2014) earned her a number of highly regarded accolades. Besides that, her cameo roles in other hit TV shows such as Balika Vadhu (2012), Ajab Gajab Ghar Jamai (2014), and Badi Dooooor Se Aaye Hai (2015) did not go unnoticed, hence earning the much needed praise. This Gujarati television beauty began her career with cinema making her debut in the comedy movie Na Ghar Ke Na Ghaat Ke (2010). With time, Giaa has also amassed a huge fan base with more than 150k followers on Twitter, more than 300k followers on Facebook, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
Born Name
Giaa Manek
Nick Name
Giaa
Sun Sign
Aquarius
Born Place
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Residence
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality
Education
Giaa graduated with a degree in advertising.
Occupation
Actress
Family
Father – Harshad Manek
Mother – Reena Manek
Siblings – Mirang Manek (Brother)
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 3 in or 160 cm
Weight
57 kg or 125.5 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Giaa has dated –
In the past, Giaa had turned down a man who she prefers to keep anonymous. However, this resulted in him making inadequate statements about her.
Ankit Bathla (2018-2019) – Giaa and Ankit Bathla met on the set of a photo shoot for a brand in 2018. Their long going rumor flourished even further after the two were spotted spending time with one another on more than one occasion. However, in 2019, Giaa came clear about the speculations and rubbished them. She also stated that “There is no love happening. I am single and I have not been in love for the last five years,” and that they were just good friends.
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
She is of Gujarati heritage.
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Plush lips
Normally paints her nails red or pink
Brand Endorsements
Giaa has appeared in commercials for several brands including Cello.
Through her social media, she has either endorsed or promoted several brands such as –
The Polkaa Dots
The Jewels Gallery
Adhya
Bend the Trend by Aakriti
Mad Over Accessories
Religion
Hinduism
Best Known For
Portraying Gopi Ahem Modi in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2010-2012) and the titular character in Jeannie Aur Juju (2012-2014) for which she had won a number of awards such as the Indian Telly Awards
Being nominated for the Bollystar Awards 2017 (Indonesian Award) for “Actress Terunyu” for her appearance in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2010-2012)
First Film
She made her debut theatrical film appearance as the daughter of actor Om Puri in Na Ghar Ke Na Ghaat Ke in 2010. Also starring in the film were actor Rahul Aggarwal, Ravi Kishan, Narayani Shastri, and Shriya Saran.
First TV Show
Giaa made her first TV show appearance on Balika Vadhu in 2008.
Personal Trainer
Giaa does go to the gym on a daily basis, where she focuses on building a strong core and burning fat. When she’s busy, her exercise routine mostly consists of 500 jumps every day and skipping.
She also dances at least 20 to 30 minutes a day.
As for her diet, she prefers to eat junk food moderately and tries to consume healthy homemade food almost every day. She also prefers to begin her day with a glass of warm water mixed with lime and honey. After that, Giaa eats fruit before doing her skipping. For breakfast, she eats milk with muesli, or cornflakes, or oats.
If she’s at home, then she prefers to make herself a glass of vegetable juice before lunch. As for her mid-day meal, Giaa usually prefers to have dal, chapattis, a vegetable, a bowl of salad.
During the evening, she has either a cup of green tea or coffee. Giaa prefers to eat her last meal of the day before 8 pm, during which, she avoids eating chapattis or rice. Instead, she prefers to eat boiled eggs, or chicken, or soup, or salad. She follows this routine at least 4 times a week and for the other 3 days, Giaa enjoys eating a good meal outside.
Giaa Manek Favorite Things
Food – Spicy Indian Dishes
Song As Of 2017 – Channa Mereya (2018) by Arijit Singh
Color – Red
Cartoon – Tom & Jerry
Travel Destination – Switzerland
Chocolate Brand – Cadbury
Application – Instagram
Section Of Her Home – The place where she keeps her awards
In 2012, Giaa was replaced overnight with actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee for the role of Gopi Bahu as controversy stirred around her stand to take part in a rival channels show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 (2012). She was asked to quit the idea of switching to Colors TV’s show as her then production house found it be damaging to her soft-spoken image as Gopi. However, Giaa stood strong about her decision even after the matter was assigned Cine & TV Artistes’ Association, which resulted in her being asked to leave on the grounds of unprofessional conduct and breach of contract. However, according to a statement by Giaa, she had quit the show herself.
In April 2012, Giaa was spotted at a hookah resto-bar with her mother and close friends during a raid that took place at 12 am. Though the police detained 21 other people, Giaa and her family were let go on the spot itself, after she had shown the police her bill which stated that they had not consumed any kind of alcohol nor did they smoke. Following the incident, during an interview with India Forums, she stated that “I don’t even consume ‘Hookah’ as I’m allergic to smoke”.
Giaa Manek Facts
She was raised in Ahmedabad and later, moved to Mumbai to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
It had been Giaa’s dream ever since she was 6 years old to become an actress. However, her father asked her to complete her studies first.
Giaa once claimed that the troubles that she has faced from being an actress are something that has helped her become stronger and wiser.
She built a career in the showbiz industry from scratch and is the first person from her family to choose acting as a profession.
To date, her fans know her less as Giaa and more as Gopi Bahu.
In the past, Giaa had rejected several roles as she did not want to be typecasted as Gopi.
The very first pay cheque that she had received was for INR 25,000. She had appeared in an advertisement when she was 17 years old.
Giaa has faced plenty of rejection when she was starting out. On one such incident, she was not allowed to enter production houses.
She is a huge animal lover and has a Persian cat named Snowbell as well as a Shitzu dog named Scrappy.
Giaa is a huge fan of actor Salman Khan. She once stated in an interview, that she would even run around trees if she got the chance to act with him.
On the sets of Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2010-2012), she was considered to be the prankster. She would mostly enjoy fun-troubling actress Rucha Hasabnis.
She does not use glycerine to do emotional scenes.
Giaa is very close to her mother, Renaa.
As Gopi, she had a huge fan following in Indonesia. As of 2016, she still had a large number of fans surrounding her for her role in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2010-2012). It was also the Indonesian channel ANTV’s number 1 show that year.
When she wakes up in the morning, the first thing that she does is drink plenty of water.
She enjoyed watching the Hollywood blockbuster Pretty Woman (1990), starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the lead roles.
As of 2017, she was reading writer Sidney Sheldon’s If Tomorrow Comes (1985).
Her guilty pleasure is food, she enjoys it best when it’s spicy. Beside’s that Giaa also loves eating chocolates.
She is a talented dancer who also took part in the reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5. However, Giaa was the 8th contestant to be eliminated on August 18, 2012.
Giaa can speak in Marathi very fluently. She also had Marathi as a subject in school.
She can only be impressed by someone who is honest and genuine.
Her pet peeve is people who are true to their word.
She loves to keep fresh flowers at the entrance of her home.
Giaa likes the color white, as it is a color of peace.
Her bedroom is covered with the color red.
Giaa prefers to grow her own green tea plant and use it to make green tea rather than buying packed products. She also drinks about 5 or 6 cups of it in a day.
She also prefers to dance over meditation.
Giaa looks up to Bollywood sensation Shilpa Shetty for her fitness inspiration.