Ranbir Kapoor, Illeana D’Cruz and Priyanka Chopra starrer Barfi remains one of the most important films to have emerged in recent times. The Anurag Basu directorial was not only one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2012 in India and overseas despite being an unconventional film, but it was also panned by the critics for its sensitive treatment and heartwarming portrayal of a unique love story. As the movie completes 10 years, Illeana D’cruz who made her Bollywood debut with the romantic-comedy drama revisited her character of Shruti and recalled why she couldn’t say no to her role ‘Shruti’ in the film.
In a conversation with Indian Express, Illeana shared, “Barfi had so much soul in it, that it was really hard to turn it down. It was a film I knew somewhere that I would never get again. Even though I had reservations about how my role would turn out, I just could not say no.”
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Elaborating more about her character, Illeana expressed that Shruti was a complicated character to play as she had so many layers to her. She stated, “There are so many layers to Shruti, that I don’t think there is any other role that could compare with that one. It’s the one film I genuinely gave my heart to. The car scene where I see him for the first time, the part in the train and the scene in the coffee shop where he offers his heart to me on a platter.. it is all so memorable and tangible. Even though it was 10 years ago, I still get goosebumps when I recall these scenes.”
The Raid actress also reminisced about her very first encounter with Ranbir Kapoor. Illeana shared, “Ranbir was so unassuming, really sweet and incredibly friendly and on the other hand I was shy and nervous and I did not know what to expect. I thought this guy is a superstar and he is really cool and I instantly knew that it would be easy working with him. He is one of the best co-stars I have ever had.”
Talking about her first tete-a-teté with Priyanka Chopra on the sets of Barfi, Illeana revealed further, “I was getting ready in my van and someone knocked the door and PC came with all her energy and said hi. It was really sweet and unbelievably chill and lovely.”
The Main Tera Hero actress also expressed her adulation for Anurag Basu. She said, “Anurag is a genius. He knew exactly what was going through my head, he knew exactly what I was thinking. He did read my mind sometimes and it was very spooky. He was the ‘pappa bear’ on set and I have a very special bond with him.”
On the professional front, Illeana was paired opposite Abhishek Bachchan in a financial-thriller film The Big Bull, directed and written by Kookie Gulati, based on stockbroker Harshad Mehta who was involved in financial crimes over a period of 10 years during 1980–1990. Her next film titled Unfair & Lovely would be a Balwinder Singh directorial and would explore India’s obsession with fair skin. It will also feature Randeep Hooda.
