'I'm Ruled By My Heart'

National-level badminton player, award-winning performer, mental health campaigner and international style icon—Deepika Padukone is exactly where she wants to be. Serena Menon reunites the Bollywood actor with her mentor, renowned film-maker and choreographer Farah Khan, as they reflect on her journey from ingenuous debutante to industry leader.

- Farah Khan

Farah Khan: No one has taken a sabbatical for this long. It’s very brave of you. During Happy New Year (2014), you were doing triple shifts and five movies in a year. Is this deliberate?

Deepika Padukone: Yeah, because I feel like—and I like the word you used, brave—there always seems to be this pressure on women, especially in film, to do everything now, make hay while the sun shines…

FK: It’s always a 100-metre dash, not a marathon.

DP: And I think, somewhere, I got fed up of people telling me that. I don’t look at my career like that. The perception that it is short-lived, so you have to make the most of it. If you’re looking at a career in the long run, it’s important to replenish emotionally, and that’s why this break is important.

FK: Others wouldn’t have dared to do this. People are so insecure…

DP: It [my decision to take this time off] comes with being comfortable with where I am, and with whom I am. I’m very happy to be in this place today, where I can do things on my own terms. And this was actually my issue when I started out. I was always trying to fit in. I felt like there was this mould for a heroine…

FK: But 10 years ago, there was a mould.

DP: Personally, I think I broke it when I started being myself and enjoying myself...pre Cocktail (2012).

FK: There was a time, when I seriously thought your career was going to derail—because Om Shanti Om (2007) was such a big hit, and obviously post that you had just signed whatever you were getting. Not many people come out of that phase like you did…