No one pays me more than what i deserve: Ileana

The svelte Ileana has been living out of suitcases for so long that she’s desperately looking forward to a breather.

Luckily for her, Diwali will mean a time to chill out at home (in Goa) as shooting will come to a standstill for four days. The 20-something headturner who’s been shooting back-to-back for the last few months, says with a twinkle in her charcoal eyes: “I am really looking ahead to spending a few quiet days at home. I could just laze around and do nothing, or I could even relax near a poolside. For me that’s a great way to relax and recharge my batteries.”

After a long stint at work, the Goan beauty who’s ruling T-town BO, finds “spending time with family” very “de-stressing. I am extremely attached to my parents and siblings. They are my closest friends and I can bust work-related stress by simply being with them,”she says.

In town for a film shoot, after a hectic overseas shooting stint for her Telugu films Rechipo and Saleem, Ileana admits that while she was a trifle “homesick” she “loved every moment” of her work. Working on Rechipo with Nitin was a “fun experience” for her, especially since she seldom has “major expectations from a film.” Ileana insists that she is “happy” to have worked in a “breezy entertainer” and relished essaying an “interesting role”.

Earlier this year, she’s stormed the BO with her runaway hit Kick which catapulted her to the top league. Apparently, post-Kick, the actress has even revised her pay packet and takes home an estimated Rs 1 crore and 10 lakh. “No one pays me a rupee more than what I deserve.But I don’t want to discuss my remuneration at all,” she says cautiously, refusing to divulge any figures.

The level-headed actress has been thumbing down Kollywood offers for a while now, including Rajnikanth’s Sultan. Is that a wise move? “I have been getting Tamil film offers for a while now, but I haven’t come across anything interesting yet,” she points out. And unlike a lot of her contemporaries who are Bollywood bound, Ileana confesses she has no such plans yet. “Only a very meaty role in a Bollywood film would tempt me,”she quips. She’s also known to be extremely selective about work. Is that a conscious decision? “Well, yes. T-town has put me on a pedestal and I have to live up to expectations all the time. I will move out of my comfort zone and do something different only if I am very sure about the role,"she avers.

Coming up is a big-ticket flick where she has a “cute role” with NTR Junior for which “shooting begins in December.”

Until then the actress will spend time with her friends and “cats”, “watch loads of movies” and totally “live it up”.