The actress talks about paring up with Randeep Hooda for the first time and shooting for Unfair And Lovely in Haryana amid the pandemic
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 5, 2020)

Through the month of November, Ileana D’Cruz was in Haryana shooting for her upcoming film Unfair And Lovely. The actress along with co-star, Randeep Hooda, was in Karnal wrapping up the shoot of the romantic comedy while following all the safety precautions. Recently on social media, she posted a picture showing how she got hurt during the shoot.

“Who gets hurt shooting a romantic comedy? I do (laughs!). It was the most easy and simple shot. I just had to climb up a truck, but I sliced my hand while doing so. I think everything happens for good though, as the first take itself was okayed,” Ileana says.

Unfair And Lovely directed by Balwinder Singh Janjua (who wrote the screenplay of Saand Ki Aankh) is set in Haryana and reportedly explores the subject of people’s obsession with fair skin in India. The actress, who will be sharing screen space with Randeep for the first time, says that he was a great help when it came to nailing the nuances that were required for the part. “Being from Haryana himself, he shared a lot about their culture, the way they talk and more. It was quite fascinating to learn all this from him as my character has a few Haryanvi elements in it,” she explains.

Talking about her camaraderie with her co-star, Ileana added, “With Randeep, there’s a little misconception about him being extremely serious as a person. Maybe it comes from the fact that he has done a lot of serious films. However, he is not like that. He is easy going and jokes around on set. In fact, he was far more jovial than I was during the shoot (laughs!).”

Though they were like one big family on set, and several occasions like her birthday (November 1) and Diwali came along the way during the shoot, the team was only focussed on wrapping up work. “I insisted that we don’t have a birthday party or celebrate anything in a big way. After all, we were shooting amid a pandemic. We had to stay safe and healthy. The focus was on finishing the shoot in time,” she signs off.