Southern comeback
Ileana D’Cruz denies she quit Telugu cinema to pursue Bollywood
Ileana D’Cruz, who has made a comeback to the Telugu industry after six years with the film Amar Akbar Anthony, says she never quit her career in the south to build one in Bollywood. “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,” D’Cruz said.
In 2012, she made her Bollywood debut with Ranbir Kapoor’s Barfi!, which was followed by Happy Ending, Rustom and Raid. “When I was shooting for Julayi, I got an offer to work in Barfi! .Itwasa 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 said. “It’s just that I was getting really good work in Bollywood that I didn’t have time for Telugu films. After a point I was 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 added.
In the Sreenu Vaitla directed film, D’Cruz has teamed up with Ravi Teja for the fourth time. The film is out in UAE cinemas.