Ileana’s introduction to Bollywood was with the role of a Bengali beauty in 'Barfi!' set in 1970s,

And the actress confesses that she had her share of skepticism.

“I was initially very worried as I was not sure if I could carry it off. I am a westernised girl. When I heard that my role was set in the 1970s, I was even more worried, as their way of thinking and behaving is different. I couldn’t have even taken inspiration from any of the other films or characters. But Anurag Basu guided me throughout and today I am completely in love with the way he has made the entire film and shaped my role. He was so enamoured with the entire film and I was incredibly afraid to let him down.” said Ileana.
 
Now, she is all praises for her co-actors.

“I always liked  Ranbir’s acting. He has got a tremendous screen presence and Priyanka Chopra is known for her intense performances. Working with both of them with such a different role is what mattered to me the most. We didn’t rely on the dialogues as we really don’t speak much in the film. The whole experience was completely different as everything was underplayed,” she explained.