Ever since her Bollywood debut in Om Shanti Om, Deepika Padukone made a mark in Bollywood, both with her looks and the skill. With a career spanning over 14 years, Deepika is one of the very few actresses today to have a versatile filmography, and with every film, the actress reveals a new identity, raising the benchmark for herself. After delivering a successful character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat, Deepika will next be seen as acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal, in Meghna Gulzar's film, Chhapaak. In an interaction, Deepika shared a lot about the film, journey, thought process, etc.
On being asked her journey after Cocktail, which gave her a new identity in the industry, Deepika said, "I think over the last 10 years, I've learned a lot and evolved as an actress. With the career so far, I have seen a substantial growth and in the next 10 years and more, I want to focus on my growth. As an artist, I don't want to stagnate or get bored, and I want to see the changes and evolve as an artist. I have never believed in looking at my criticism with a negative eye. Negativity and criticism is different for me, where I ignore negativity and analyse the criticism I face as an actor."
It is a well-known fact that Deepika has keen in sports. Born to ace badminton player, Prakash Padukone, Deepika, since childhood, has shown inclination towards sports. Sharing her thought on how this helped he shape her career and personality, she said, "Sports has played an important part of me and I want you youngsters in the country to play competitive sports as it shapes a person. It has brought a change in my life and I have seen a difference between me and my contemporary actors. Be it in terms of negativity and/or success, it has taught me how it handle it in a certain way. Some of my actors I know have not handled success in a good way and it can be seen in their behaviour."
Deepika Padukone's character as Malti has been appreciated ever since the trailer of her upcoming film 'Chhapaak' released. Talking about Laxmi (who the film is based on), she said, "Laxmi is a positive and a confident person. Through Chhapaak, we can not change her life but we can definitely change lives of many others. What we need to understand is that she faces the same difficulty as others. Acid attack victims don't expect sympathy, but all the seek is acceptance. We need to understand that the face of an acid attack survivor is not a disability. Laxmi has been a huge influence on our lives and I hope characters like these through this film and suck films, helps us grow as person. Talking about playing Laxmi, it has been the most challenging role of my career. I have played many characters in life and I go through challenging experiences. But there has been none where I have experienced what I did, by playing an actor attacked survivor, as it showed me the importance of living the life of a survivor post the attack. As people, I don't think we have discussed it and this role helped us understand the nuances. There are several challenges which I learned survivors go through be it emotionally, through law and order, through family or social concerns etc."
Hindi cinema has always seen the portrayal of women in different ways, and many actresses have made a certain image and some filmmakers have written/showcased their characters in a certain way. Adding to her thought process on her choice of films, she said, "With Chhapaak, the writers have ensured that the film is written in a certain way. When Meghna told me about the script, I was immediately drawn to it. As an actress, I want to do films which bring a difference to people. Tamasha is one such example wthere people loved it despite the appreciation it did not get on commercial terms. As audience, we don't sympathise much on a regular basis. With all my roles, I have always stood by the point of making a difference. Having said that, I believe every story does not carry have the necessity to pass the message of social responsibility. Instead, it should be simple but should have an impact in some kind."
Chhapaak marks Deepika's first film as a producer. On being asked how or if she will differentiate both the roles in her career, she said, "As a producer, I don't think anything has surprised much. There were some aspects which I have seen as an artist and those helped.me in the role of a producer too. This journey allowed me to understand when I should as an actor or a producer or both. When I was acting, I did not think of being a producer. My first priority will always be to become a good actor, but now that promotions of the film are going in, I'm wearing the hat if a producer. It has been a lot of learning and there are challenges always. But I've learned that one needs to balance creativity and commercial aspects. More importantly, I have seen the crew working day and night on the sets, leading to a lot of mental stress. As a producer, I want my crew to have the best experience too. Films which I will be producing will be good but the experience of the film for the entire crew will have equal focus."
Share
Tweet
