Ileana D'Cruz, who shot to fame with Barfi! has been roped in by Sanjay Leela Bhansali for his next film, Gabbar. The project is a remake of 2002 Tamil film Ramana and marks the Bollywood debut of south director Krish. Ileana will star opposite Akshay Kumar, who after the success of Rowdy Rathore, is working with Bhansali again. A source told TOI, "Ileana started getting numerous film offers after being noticed for her role in Barfi!.

Ramesh Taurani signed her for Raj Kumar Santoshi's Phata Poster... and now she has bagged Gabbar. The film will go on floors by the end of the year after Akshay finishes filming Milan Luthria's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai...Again and Ashwin Varde's Boss. Talking about the film, the source added, "Akshay and Ileana's chemistry will be interesting to watch. It is quite an unlikely pairing, which Bhansali is trying to explore. Akshay plays the lead role in the film where he fights against corruption."