Work is secondary - for me, what's important is having a close-knit family and having someone you can call family.
— Ileana D'Cruz
I personally feel my equation with Varun Dhawan is on a different level. I share a great rapport with him. He is very charming, matured, and he knows what to say when.
My entire life goal was to be accepted by everyone. I think that's what I wanted the most. I never got it.
I was a complete tomboy. You'd never see me wearing skirts.
I feel that I don't have to have it all together all the time. I don't have to be this smiling face for the public.
I love watching funny films.
I am a massive foodie.
When I first started out in Telugu cinema, I signed anything and everything that came my way. I was 18, was immature, and it felt like a good idea that 'Oh, they are paying me a good amount of money.' I was young, naive; I had zero ambition, and honestly, it wasn't my calling.
Marriage isn't important for me. It's just a social announcement where we splurge on feeding a lot of people.
We rely on our partners, but if we're not stable within, we crumble in our relationships, too.
I was this very self-conscious, shy person once I hit my teens.
It would be prudish to say, 'I don't want to be a prop in a film,' because there are certain films I've loved doing, as I have looked very glamorous in them.
If I'm going to get overshadowed in a film, it's because of something that I haven't done, not because of what the other heroine has done or because I've focused on the amount of scenes she had in the film.
There is a glimpse of me that I'd like to keep private. And I believe that is necessary for my kind of sanity. I'd not like the world to know everything about me.
I think marriage and live-in relationships aren't really different. It is just a piece of paper that separates the two.
It makes it so much easier to work with people who you can implicitly trust.
When I see myself on screen, I am always looking at the bad bits and finding fault in something or the other.
I'm aware that I am flawed. I'm aware that I have issues. I'm aware that I need to be able to be healthy, not just physically but mentally.
I'm just going to keep pushing and try and be the best of version that I can be of me.
You can call me a Mumbai girl since I have spent the first ten years of my life here. Then I shifted to Goa, where I got my first modelling break.
I know that when people ask me about my boyfriend, they're not disrespectful but just curious.
I'm a Goan girl.
At one point, you start wondering if being talented in Bollywood is enough, or you need connections.
I think what matters is whatever you do on screen should be good irrespective of the time you have on screen.
I'm happy I'm doing films at a slow pace rather than doing anything and everything.
Marriage is great for some; it makes them better people. For me, commitment doesn't have to be marriage. It stems from the fact that I have a Westernised world view.
I never thought I'd be somebody dealing with anxiety or depression.
I have been parts of some films in the South where I didn't expect certain shots to be shot in a certain way. I wasn't experienced enough; I was very naive. I didn't have the standing of an actor to say that I don't want to do this shot.
In the end, only a good actor stands out; if I am not a good actor, I won't stand out.
I'm a fairly mature woman, and I've realised that I'm not going to grow if I keep thinking, 'The other heroine in the film is so much better than me.' I would rather take inspiration from them.
I loved playing Sweetie in 'Mubarakan.' It was chaotic and funny; it was sort of a magnum unfold in a chaotic way.
I do not like to be told what to do, but in the end, I take my own decisions.
When you are working with actors who are secure, who have nothing really to prove, it gets a lot easier working with them.
There are days when there's no will to do anything. It's not easy for someone in my profession, because you are always meant to be in the limelight. I can't just not turn up, as I will come across as unprofessional, and people won't work with me anymore.
Anxiety has been a big problem for me, but I think my biggest struggle has been depression.
I've got every possible thing I could want. And I wondered, 'Why am I so depressed?' I still don't know sometimes.
I was only 18 years old when I started acting.
I am a public figure, but I am not public property.
I always wanted to play a Punjabi girl because I always found them very colourful, in a way. There's always a spark to all the Punjabi girls I've seen onscreen.
I don't want my personal life to become a part of public domain. It is something that is sacred and means a lot to me. I don't want it to become some frivolous gossip column.
I fell in love with films only two years after working in films.
I had a different perception of what a relationship or love is like. I was all giddy-headed and fairytale about it in my head, but it's so different. There's a lot of restraint that you've got to have, compromising in certain situations - and you've got to have a lot of respect.
I think marriage is beautiful, but I have mixed feelings about it.
I was always like the wallflower.
At the end of the day, you are doing the film for the audience.
I don't like being jealous.
A lot of people say I am very mysterious. It takes a lot to know me.
My basic knowledge about Punjabi comes from films.
We actors get a lot of love, but at times, we get double the amount of negativity for no reason whatsoever.
When you are working with likeminded people, then there are no pretences.
