Ileana D'Cruz
Ileana D'Cruz (born 1 November 1987) is an Indian film actress, who predominantly appears in Telugu movies. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut -- South for the 2006 Telugu film Devadasu. She has appeared in films like Pokiri (2006), Jalsa (2008), Kick (2009), and Julayi (2012), establishing herself as one of Telugu cinema leading actresses. D'Cruz made her Kollywood debut with Kedi and made a comeback in Shankar's Nanban (2012). In 2012, she made her Bollywood debut with Anurag Basu's critically and commercially successful Barfi!, for which she received critical appreciation and the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.In 2005, D'Cruz was called for an audition by director Teja, but the project was cancelled. She instead made her feature film debut in the Telugu language romance film Devadasu (2006), directed by Y. V. S. Chowdhary. She underwent acting classes with Aruna Bhikshu, before starting to work on the film. She recalls that during filming she felt "pressured almost cried and didn't want to go further", but went ahead after her mother encouraged her, giving her "the lecture of a lifetime at 3 am." A review from Indiaglitz stated that she "has chiseled features and a figure to die-for." Devadasu became the year's first major commercial success, eventually grossing around INR140 million, whilst earning D'Cruz the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debutant. She next appeared in the gangster film Pokiri in which she portrayed an aerobics teacher, who is harassed by a corrupt police officer. The film was a high financial success, emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film at the time.She made her Tamil-language film debut in Kedi (2006). Although the film did not do so well at the box-office, D'Cruz remained too busy to accept all the film roles offered to her. Her Telugu film Khatarnak (2006) in which she acted opposite Ravi Teja did not do as well as expected, which has been attributed to her glamorous appearance not going down well with the audience. She subsequently experienced a setback in her career as her following releases Rakhi (2006) and Munna (2007) proved critically and financially successful.
D'Cruz's career took a turn for the better[vague] with the release of her well-received 2007 film Aata. She received favorable reviews for her performance as Satya, a college student who is on the run from the home minister's crooked son by whom she is targeted, when leading a protest and demanding punishment for his crimes. In 2008, she performed the female lead role in the action film Jalsa, directed by Trivikram Srinivas. D'Cruz received largely positive remarks, with critics citing that she looked "pretty", "damn cool", and "every bit chic and stunning throughout the film", while being later awarded the Santosham Award, one of five awards for Jalsa, and the South Scope Style Award, besides garnering a nomination for the Best Actress prize at the 56th Filmfare Awards South. Her first 2009 release, titled Kick, was likewise declared a box office success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films that year.
Later that year she starred in the films Rechipo and Y. V. S. Choudary's Saleem both of which performed poorly at the box office.
D'Cruz made her Hindi debut with Anurag Basu's Barfi! In addition to playing the role of the narrator, she portrayed the character of Shruti Ghosh, a girl who leaves her true love for material comforts. The movie released on 14 September 2012, to highly positive reviews from critics, and was a major commercial success, earning INR1.75 billion (US$29 million) worldwide. D'Cruz's performance was well received, earning her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, as well as a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Rachit Gupta from Filmfare said "This is Ileana's first film but her fantastic performance is just a testament why the Telugu audience consider her a superstar. Of course it also helps that she is the most visually appealing in Barfi! out shining even the scenic hills of Darjeeling". Rajeev Masand stated "Ileana leaves a lasting impression in her Hindi film debut, conveying both love and pain through those beautiful, expressive eyes". The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival and was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 85th Academy Awards.
She next appeared in the Rajkumar Santoshi action comedy film Phata Poster Nikhla Hero opposite Shahid Kapoor. The film released on September 20, 2013 to mixed reviews, and the film was eventually declared a flop at the box office. However, D'Cruz received mixed to positive reviews for her performance, with the Times of India saying that she was "good with emotions but not so tuned into comedy yet."
Her other projects includes Main Tera Hero, produced by Balaji Motion Pictures Happy Ending and a project with Nikhil Advani.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileana_D%27Cruz & Google image.