Dressed in black and white, Ileana D’cruz is a sight to behold. The pretty actress, who is soaking up all the attention she’s getting for her newly-acquired washboard abs, starts off by talking about her fondness for social media. It’s a boon, since fans get to hear directly from her. “I like the fact that I can talk about things on social media,” she says.
Self aware to the hilt, Ileana also knows the dark side of the medium, and refuses to tolerate trolls. “I’m okay with having a conversation with random people but it gets to a point when they talk rubbish for the sake of it. I’m not for that and that’s what really pisses me off. I’m all for a good ol’ debate instead.”
Ileana’s latest movie, Rustom, released to mixed reviews. It’s an important movie for Ileana, since she’d been absent from the movie circuit for well over 18 months. Her last movie, Happy Ending, with Saif Ali Khan, didn’t do too well at the box office, despite good reviews.
Reminiscing, Ileana can’t fathom why the movie did not work. “Majority of the people I talked to say that they all loved it. I met a couple of people who asked why I was doing Happy Ending. I still stand by it; I think Saif was funny in it and Govinda was brilliant. It’s gutsy to play a guy with a paunch. We had fun doing it, it was shot well and I really love it.”
In a highly competitive industry, what happens to an actress whose movie doesn’t do well? Ileana sighs, “With Happy Ending I was genuinely disappointed as that was one movie I was really looking forward to. I didn’t expect Main Tera Hero to do so well, I thought Barfi and Phata Poster Nikla Hero weren’t going to do well. My radar for what works and what doesn’t is totally off.”
She adds, “After Happy Ending, I assumed I would get better work, but I didn’t get good offers. I had actually lost confidence in myself. I remember meeting a big director for a role, which was perfect. It had glamour, performance and a big production house. I asked them why were they offering me the role, and they said that they thought I could do it. I pitched another actress for the role, can you believe it? I don’t regret not doing the film.” She thinks of Rustom as a boon.
“I was low for a while. At that time Rustom came to me and everything fell in place.” The movie is completely based in the 1960s but it wasn’t a smooth ride with the costume designer of the movie. “But later I realised that it really worked what she had designed for me and today we are thick friends,” adds Ileana.
