THE POWER OF 100: ENTERTAINMENT

ACHIEVERS ACROSS THE DOMAINS OF POLITICS, BUSINESS, SCIENCE, THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, EDUCATION, LAW AND DEFENCE WHO ARE SHOWING US WHAT WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT LOOKS LIKE

- Suhani Singh,  Aditya Shrikrishna

THE REAL DEAL

Deepika Padukone, 37 Actress

DEEPIKA PADUKONE WAS 21 when she made her debut in Om Shanti Om, directed by a female director, Farah Khan. It is not lost on her that it took another 13 years for her to collaborate with another—Meghna Gulzar, for Chhapaak, also the first film she produced. The gender disparity, she says, was not something she had noticed in the initial years. But, gradually, she realised how entrenched it was in the 100-year-old industry. From the difference in pay to how the hero’s vanity van is parked closer to the location or how his shot is prioritised for pack-up time, it’s so routine that it seems normal. Deepika isn’t whining, just laying out the facts. “We need to be conscious that this isn’t a men against women conversation, but about doing this together,” she says.

ACCOMPLISHMENT

Indian cinema's highest-paid actress has been creating a level-playing field for her peers

From 2013 onwards, Deepika has been at the forefront of getting things to change. “Through my journey and work, and the impact I’m able to have today, I want to see how I can start changing the narrative,” she says. The highest-paid actress in Indian cinema today, she commands a hefty fee for endorsements, and has featured in the first Hindi films (