After much hoopla over Ileana being dropped from Rajnikanth’s Sultan, the actress is now denying ever being a part of the movie. While tabloids have gone into a tizzy writing about how the actress was dropped like a hot potato from the big project, Ileana has a different story to tell. She says, "When the contract was not signed at all, the question of them dropping me does not arise. I was never a part of Sultan, though they were holding talks with me, I was yet to sign on the dotted line."
What is intriguing though is that Ileana’s manager had confirmed that she was actually pulled out of the project. According to the star’s manager Giridhar, Ileana felt let down when the producer refused to pay even half her market price which is Rs 1 crore. "In Telugu films the producers are willing to pay 1.25 crore but she is choosy about her roles. Ileana was prepared to reduce her price slightly but Soundarya said the budget did not permit even that," said Giridhar.
Meanwhile, Vijaylakshmi, who bagged the role in Sultan is overjoyed to be working with Rajnikanth. "Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this," She says.
"Even after a day of shooting with superstar Rajinikanth in Hyderabad, the feeling is yet to sink in. I was overawed by his presence, but he was very kind and he put me at ease. He advised me to treat this like any other film and give it my best shot," she adds.
