Deepika Padukone: More Than A Superstar

Imtiaz Ali, Rohit Shetty, Shoojit Sircar, Farah Khan and Homi Adajania we dissect Deepika Padukone one director at a time to unearth what constitutes this brilliant actor

- Mehernaaz Dhondy

It’s been six days since we’ve been on stand-by to get Deepika Padukone on the line for a quick chat. A packed shoot schedule – she’s in Toronto filming XXX The Return of Xander Cage – and the ensuing 10-and-a-half hour time difference from current hometown Mumbai explains why we’ve been playing a cat-and-mouse game of calls with her. It’s 10pm on a weeknight when DP is finally on the other end, and the first thing she says is a quick thankyou for waiting up for her. Manners on point as always. And some of that solid homegrown Padukone grounding. “‘Be passionate, be happy’, it’s my dad’s philosophy,” says DP over the phone, “What is important is to be yourself.” Clearly it’s passion that drives the 30-year-old actor who has ended the last couple of years on a high with a crop of critic and box-office approved films and a few Filmfare awards to boot. In a way, she’s in a race with herself, trying to better each performance with her next, and constantly raising the bar. But thenthat’s Deepika the actor for you, the one that everyone wants a piece of. And now it’s Hollywood’s turn.