Ileana D’Cruz made her acting debut in Telugu film industry over a decade ago with film ‘Devadasu’. In her six-year-long turn with the Telugu film industry, she starred in several blockbusters such as Pokkiri, Jalsa, Kick, and Julayi among others. In 2012, Ileana bid farewell to Tollywood, shifting her focus to Bollywood after she bagged Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Barfi!. Her last Telugu jaunt was the Ravi Teja-starrer Devudu Chesina Manushulu, directed by Puri Jagannadh. Now, six years later, she is all set to make a comeback to the industry with another Ravi Teja-starrer ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, which is been directed by Sreenu Vaitla. This will be the third time after Kick and Devudu Chesina Manushulu that Ravi and Ileana will be seen partaking in the onscreen space.
‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, which features Ravi Teja in a triple role, is being bankrolled by Mythri Movie Makers. An envoy from the production house confirmed to First post that Ileana has been signed after Anu Emmanuel, who was at first signed for the project, recently opted out due to lack of dates. “Yes, we have signed Ileana for the project. But she has not been signed as a replacement for Anu. Contrary to rumors, Anu had to leave the project as she couldn’t set aside dates for the 50-day US schedule. Hence, we had to go ahead and sign Ileana who is thrilled to be part of the project. She will join the sets from the second schedule in June” said the unit members.
Earlier this month, Ileana implicit about signing a new film with Ravi Teja. As the fans were celebrating nine years of ‘Kick’ milestone on Twitter, Ileana used the opportunity to express her notice to work with Ravi again. “9 Years! I think Ravi and I need to do another film again. This one was so special though. Naina was one of my funniest characters till date,” she tweeted.
The first schedule of the film, which marks the gathering of Sreenu Vaitla and Ravi Teja after blockbusters such as ‘Venky’ and ‘Dubai Seenu’, was recently finished in Detroit, USA. If the industry gossip is something to go by, the entire project is ordinary to be shot in the States. Currently, the team has taken a two-week smash as Ravi is busy promoting this week’s release, Nela Ticket, in which he plays a doctor character. Last seen live a techno cop in ‘Touch Chesi Chudu’, which was a box office dub, Ravi has pinned all hopes on ‘Nela Ticket’, which is releasing with very high buzz.