Deepika Padukone's phenomenal rise from top model to global star and Cannes festival juror
After naming Bollywood star Deepika Padukone as one of its 100 "most influential people in the world" in 2018, Time magazine this year honoured the actress again at their inaugural Time100 Impact Awards. The event, held in Dubai in March, recognised those who have made a significant impact on their industries and the world at large.
It's a testament to Padukone's stunning rise in the film industry, and how she's using her name as a force for good, particularly in her work with mental health issues.
That storied French label Louis Vuitton would name her an ambassador, the first from India, only days before she attends the Cannes Film Festival as a member of the jury, is just added bonus to the career of this former sportswoman and model Vogue India calls "the most influential actor in the Indian film industry right now".
The daughter of Indian badminton star Prakash Padukone and his wife Ujjala, Padukone decided at a young age that she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, and began to play competitively while still in high school in Bangalore. During this time, she was also taking on the odd modelling assignment, having started as a child model at the age of 8.
By the time she turned 18, she had bagged her first major advertising campaign, something that would spur her to drop out of school, ditch badminton and pursue modelling full time. "I realised that I was playing the game only because it ran in the family. So, I asked my father if I could give up the game and he wasn't upset at all," she told The Times of India in 2004. "He has always told my sister and I to do what we are wholeheartedly interested in and to do it well."
Padukone's younger sister Anisha is a professional golfer. In 2006, Padukone appeared in the annual Kingfisher Calendar, then known for launching some of India's top models. And by the time she was 21, she'd moved to the entertainment capital of Mumbai, the home of Bollywood.
A star is born
During her first year in Mumbai working the modelling circuit, Padukone was cast in a music video for singer Himesh Reshammiya’s song Naam Hain Tera. Filmmaker Farah Khan, who was then looking for a fresh face to cast in her next film, spotted Padukone in the video and invited her for an audition.
The 2007 fantasy musical, Om Shanti Om, starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Padukone, would become a critical and commercial hit, turning her into a star overnight.
Padukone next appeared in 2008's Bachna Ae Haseeno, alongside then up-and-coming actor Ranbir Kapoor, whom she dated for a year. Yet, despite her high-profile Bollywood debut and a few big-budget films, including 2009's Chandni Chowk to China and 2010 Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, major success eluded her.
It was the 2012's Cocktail that would prove a turning point for Padukone, who won acclaim for her performance in the romantic comedy. Her role as a party girl headed down a path of self-destruction was lauded by critics and the film was a major box office success.
Padukone then followed her success with major hits such as 2013's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express, in which she reunited with her Om Shanti Om co-star Khan.
Later that year, Padukone appeared along with her future husband Ranveer Singh in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, which was another commercial success. The pair's crackling chemistry would inspire director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to cast them in two other films, Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), both major box office successes.
Padukone has also proven her versatility in films such as 2015's Piku, a dysfunctional but heartwarming father-daughter story, in which she starred with veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and the late Irrfan Khan. In 2020, she played acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal in Chhapaak, in a retelling of her tragic and ultimately hopeful story. This year, Padukone won rave reviews for her role in Gehraiyaan, which explores complicated relationships seen through the lens of familial trauma.
In 2017, Padukone made her Hollywood debut, starring in Vin Diesel's xXx: Return of Xander Cage. In his profile of her for Time's 100 most influential people list, Diesel writes that he had wanted to cast Padukone in the Fast & Furious films, but her schedule did not permit it.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
