In 2007, thousands of viewers in India flocked to the cinemas on the day of Diwali. The film they were vying to watch? A glossy new release by the name of Om Shanti Om.
Centred on a thrilling plot of rebirth and revenge, packed with energetic dance numbers and starring Shah Rukh Khan-one of India's most popular movie stars the film had all the fixings of a mega-blockbuster.
The one unpredicted factor that contributed to Om Shanti Om's record-breaking success (the film became the highest-grossing Hindi film ever at the time of its release) came in the form of its female lead.
Playing the dual roles of Bollywood starlet Shantipriya and, 30 years later, her doppelganger Sandy, model-turned-actress Deepika Padukone stepped onto the silver screen for the first time.
Padukone was a vision to behold in both her roles. For the former, her look was modelled after the iconic heroines of the '70s inky black eyeliner carved into sharp wings over her chestnut-coloured doe eyes, jet-black hair slicked over a bouffant and a few face-framing tendrils left loose. At just 21, she had achieved an old-world charm possessed only by the actresses of yesteryear, portraying Shantipriya's quiet self-assuredness with the subtleties of a thespian far beyond her years.
As Sandy, Padukone showed herself more authentically. Under a cascading mess of brown curls, her dimpled smile was strikingly telegenic-it was difficult to look away. In contrast to Shantipriya's troubled impenetrability, Padukone brought out a giddy innocence in Sandy that convinced audiences, beyond costuming, that they were completely different people. That award season, she walked away with five different iterations of a 'best debut' award.
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