Ileana D'Cruz has been a part of films in Bollywood and down South but the actress admits that there was a time when she would sign a film without even thinking properly. “I keep joking that I was the Akshay Kumar of South, I used to do four films a year. He does good films, some films of mine were good too but some weren't. I was just signing films without wanting to do good work,“ says the actress.

She reminisces that when she was offered a film down South, she thought how would she do it since she didn't even speak the language. “When I started shooting, I thought people won't watch the film. It was a stupid, carefree and careless attitude,“ she acknowledges, adding that she was approached for Hindi films even before South films and is grateful she didn't accept them. “If I had done a Bollywood film, I would have made a fool of myself.“

She reveals that she was equally unsure about Anurag Basu's Barfi and took three months to sign it. She eventually took it after almost backing out, because she didn't know if she would get to do a story like this again. “I decided on a whim to do it,“ she shares, saying she was also offered Salman Khan's Wanted. “I was happy that my first film would be with Salman. But when Boney (Kapoor) sir asked me to do a photo shoot, I had to say no because I had exams. I didn't think I handled it well because I didn't understand the gravity of the offer. It was all about completing my exams.“