Genelia D'souza, if sources are to be believed, actually planned to attend the IIFA extravaganza in Sri Lanka thanks to her 'good friend' Ritiesh Deshmukh, unaware of the controversies surrounding in Kollywood.

But a prominent person from Tamil film industry briefed her about the happenings here and stopped her at the eleventh hour from taking a flight to Colombo, sources say.

He is none other than producer 'Aascar' Ravichandran, sources reveal and add: "He was the one who saved Genelia from being issued a red card. Because he has roped in the actress for 'Velayudham', his forthcoming film with Vijay."

"It was only after Ravichandran cautioned Genelia not to attend the IIFA, she decided to stay back. She was quick to realise the gravity of the situation and knew that she might lose out on a big film if she went ahead", sources point out.

Meanwhile, reports have it that the actress was in Chennai on Sunday and completed a photo-shoot with Vijay at Balu Mahendra’s studio.