After a hiatus of six years, Ileana D’Cruz is back in Tollywood with Srini Vaitla’s Amar Akbar Anthony. Before this, Ileana was a busy bee in Tollywood making her debut in 2012 with Anurag Basu’s Barfi. Since then there were also rumours that Ileana has quit Tollywood for a career in Hindi cinema Ask her about this, she is quick to react over this to put the rumours at rest saying, “People have always had misconceptions about my career. After I signed “Barfi”, I was shocked to read reports that I have quit Telugu cinema for Bollywood. These were baseless allegations and it’s time to put them to rest. Why will I give up an industry which has given me an identity”.
Ileana D’Cruz Says Tollywood Gave Her Identity
“When I was shooting for ‘Julayi’, I got an offer to work in ‘Barfi!’. It was a project with an interesting story and I didn’t want to miss. I even consulted exploring the opportunity with director Trivikram and he was very happy for me. Even without knowing anything about my role, he pushed me to accept the offer,” she adds. “It’s just that I was getting really good work in Bollywood that I didn’t have time for Telugu films. Also, after a point I was being approached for dance numbers by Telugu filmmakers and I was not excited about these offers. Therefore, I waited for the right film to return and that’s how ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ happened,” she asserts.
Ask her about her comeback film, she says, “There couldn’t have been a better Telugu film to make a comeback. It has all the ingredients to be your regular commercial potboiler and has a wonderful story. For the first time, I’ve played a complex role with many layers. I’ve also dubbed in my own voice in Telugu.”
