Deepika Padukone The Shining Star

She has seen the highs and lows, and has pulled herself up like a phoenix from her lows. As the country cheers one of its favourite actors on, the svelte Deepika Padukone talks to Ruchika Mehta on learning, loving, and looking beyond

- Ruchika Mehta

Langorous legs, a sinuously sexy smile, an athletic body that is beyond hour-glass perfect… Add to that a calm, pure soul, a deep intellect, and eyes that seek honesty in all it purviews… Deepika Padukone is not just a superstar courtesy her hits, but in the real sense a star who crosses the cinema galaxy once in a very rare, blue moon.

Deepika was a winner the moment she was discovered and catapulted onto the ramp. Once there, the world of fashion marvelled at her persona that sparkled like a million bulbs coming alive. She stayed there for a very short, eventful time, until, lo and behold, she was hand-picked to play a role opposite Shah Rukh Khan. She arrived on the Bollywood scene like the veritable icing on the cake, acting opposite a superstar whom she matched perfectly, frame by scintillating frame. The rest, as they say, is history.

In her acting career, Deepika has pushed her emoting, expressing prowess to new boundaries with each release. Versatility is the cornerstone of her work trajectory. Yes, she has done the ‘run around the trees’ routine for commercial success, however, with that stereotype has simultaneously emerged Deepika, the woman with a voice. For every Chennai Express there has been a Chhapaak, a Piku or a Housefull. Time and again, she has been sought out to play roles of historically-powerful women. Padmavati, the gutsy Maharani, Mastani who helped Bajirao in his warfare, and Leela in Ram-Leela, in which love triumphs even in death. Deepika has done justice to all these roles.

It is in these movies that also emerges the sheer