Ileana is mobbed by fans at the hotel. T charm she exudes hasn’t changed a bit. It’s the last day of her work for Amar Akbar Anthony . Post a hectic schedule of promotions, she relaxes over a cuppa and reminisces the days when the media went berserk over her hour glass figure and never focused on her acting. She comes across as a very humble person and doesn’t make an effort to conceal her shortcomings. “I probably wasn’t a good enough actor then. It did effect me. I was stressed out then. You should ask Ravi Teja, he will tell you the difference then and now. I was 19 and had no idea about what was happening. I knew a lot was written about my figure. In Goa no one ever spoke about me being attractive. Once I was here, it was different. It was a weird jump. I asked director YVS Chowdhary during Devadas , why we were taking so many shots on the waist. He said it is considered very beautiful,” says the actor still wondering why a big deal was made over a waist.
Does she consider her second stint as a home coming? In a way yes, says Ileana admitting to being nervous on the first day on the sets of Amar Akbar Anthony . “There was a gap, but all through Ravi Teja remained my friend. The first day, we started with a song and I still had doubts if I would fit in again.”
Ileana shares that she continued to get offers, many of them big in every way with a potential to be a great hit but there was no significance to the character etched out for her. She adds, “I was away for six years and I wanted to come back with something better.”
This time round, she finds herself dealing with people a lot better. Ileana is lot more articulate now and she couldn’t agree more.
“I tend to clam up when I am not sure about the people around me. Now I am a different person altogether. I feel I have grown up now. As a person, the graph is in a way complete, I am sensible, understand and respect my work more. Earlier it was money, the perks... and any teen in my place would have been the same. On the flip side, I did not like my work, it felt stressful, too much pressure. Even now I feel stressful but there is a certain joy in it. I understand the job of even the crew now. Back then I did know what was a clapboard. I was not prepared during my debut with Davadasu , unlike Ram who had his uncle who was a producer. It was his first film too. I didn’t know what it meant to work in a big banner. I did not know how big or massive the film or people were. If I had known all that, there would have been more seriousness from my side. From a sheltered college life, I became a part of a huge film industry.”
People who earlier praised her for her looks have started calling her a fantastic actor post Barfi . She wouldn’t have become an actor of substance overnight. It is just that she wasn’t offered meaty roles or probably the directors did not extract enough from her. However, director Sreenu Vytla believes, “there’s more to her than her looks. You will be surprised to see her work in AAA. ”
Ileana sounds positive of continuing her second innings after the release of Amar Akbar Anthony . She signs off, “Working with Ravi has been always easy, it is an easy equation with Sreenu as well. It was very easy to understand what he wanted. I had a lovely emotional conversation on the last day. They said they would love to work with me. Hopefully things will work out.”
