Deepika Padukone “You Cannot Force Destiny Or Fight With It”

Since I met her first eleven years ago in London where she had come to attend the mahurat of Himesh Reshammiya’s film Aap Ka Suroor, Deepika Padukone is one actress who has not changed even a wee bit. In this interview, Deepika Padukone tells JYOTHI VENKATESH for CINE BUSTER that she is ready to do even more challenging roles.

Grapevine was abuzz with rumours that Ranveer Singh got so much into the skin of his Padmavati character Alauddin Khalji that he had to seek the help of a psychiatrist in order to be back to normal. Shooting for the movie had cast such an impact on him he couldn’t come out of his role, and Deepika has also stated that the role will remain in her heart for years.

“Before this, it had happened with Cocktail. Even now, Veronica is in my system somewhere hidden inside me. I feel the same with Padmavati. Her soul is in me and I can feel her in my system for many years. I don’t think it’s going to leave my system for a while. It’s her power, it’s her strength, it’s her conviction, it’s her courage,” she sighs.

Well, of course, Sanjay Leela Bhansali films leave an indelible mark not only on the audiences but also on the actors. The characters and story remains etched in the hearts for a very long time. After all, we still love Devdas, and we still weep for the unresolved love every time we watch the movie, don’t we? ”It doesn’t feel like I have completed 11 years. It feels like I have a lot more to give. Like I am ready for even more challenging roles and challenging films. And one of those experiences will be Padmavati.” Starring Ranveer, Deepika and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles, Padmavati is hopefully hitting the screens on the Valentine’s Day on February 14 next year, and the wait seems longer than ever!

How often do you miss your family when you are away from them in Mumbai? “For me, both Shah Rukh khan and Farha Khan are family away from my family. Farha calls me baby and both of us take a lot of liberties with each other and Red Chillies is my home. I fondly remember that while I was working in Happy New Year, Farha and I kept on recounting interesting incidents, which happened while shooting for Om Shanti Om.

Does she believe in destiny? “It is destiny that brought me to Happy New Year as Shah Rukh Khan and Farha Khan had planned to launch long before my debut film Om Shanti Om was even conceived by Red Chillies. Farha had narrated the subject to Shah Rukh ten years ago but due to various reasons, the film could not take off. Besides Farha and Shah Rukh, I was also quite comfortable with Abhishek Bachchan as I had earlier worked with him in Ashtutosh Gowarikar’s Khele Hum Jee Jaan Se.

Is it true that she was not considered for Happy New Year initially?”Yes. Initially I was never in the picture as far as Happy New Year was concerned as Shah Rukh and Farha were actually in search of a new actress to play the role of Mohini Joshi which I played in the film. I got a call from Farha after I had completed my work in Chennai Express. I did not even get a full narration till a month before Happy New Year went on the floors.

Describing her journey in Bollywood from Om Shanti Om till say Padmavati, Deepika exults, “ For me, it has been a beautiful and amazing journey as an actress right from the time had made my debut with Om Shanti Om in Bollywood. I can proudly claim that no other new girl had got a fantastic debut like me, though after the release of Om Shanti Om, I did go through a very bad phase with several films of mine flopping one after the other like Khelein Hum Jee Jaansey, Chandni Chowk to China, Kartik Calling Kartik, Break Ke Baad, Lafange Parindey, Tamasha etc. Instead of getting bogged down by my failures, I used my failures as an opportunity to better myself and forged ahead in my career, with only patience as my trump card to tide over the crisis in my career and trying to learn from my mistakes. It has been a journey of ups and downs for me as an actress, but I think I have been able to make the most of my career.

Deepika confesses that she did go through a very bad phase as an actress after the phenomenal success of Om Shanti Om! “When you go through a bad phase, it is only you who can support yourself, besides your family and friends but till you want to help yourself, no one can come forward to help you. It helps you to bounce back, if you have a support system during tough times in your career. I managed to identify all the mistakes that I had made in my career and tried to rectify them, if not all, at least most of them but that does not mean that in the near future I will not be making any mistakes. There were some big films of which I hoped to be a part of, but I was dropped for some strange reasons but I did not lose heart when the films turned out to be duds at the box office and was glad that I was not part of them.

Do awards matter to her? “Awards do matter. Thankfully, I had received most of the awards in 2015 when I was part of four films like Race 2, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Goliyonki Raas Leela Ram Leela and Chennai Express. Piku has fetched me quite a few major awards. Frankly speaking, if I had not won even a single award, I would have definitely been very disappointed though I know there are people who say that most of the awards are rigged.

On what basis does she pick a film as an actress? “Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sir, Ranveer Singh or I do not do a film thinking that it is going to fetch 100 cr at the box office but because we are passionate about making a film. You have to choose a film from your heart. I would say that I don’t choose projects for wrong reasons. I make it a point to find out whether I find the character challenging enough for me to get my teeth into the role as an actress or not before I say yes to a film. If I work hard but my work isn’t appreciated, what’s the use?

How important is money for Deepika? “Money per se, isn’t important to me but the love and appreciation of the fans which is most valuable to any actress. Box office success does matter to me a lot but critical appreciation is also equally important. If you receive good reviews for your performances but the film does not do well at the box office, you will feel bad. Won’t you? I want people to remember my films long after they are released, like Moghul E Azam, Ganga Jamuna, Kaagaz Ke Phool etc though it is sad that today most of the films do not have repeat value and there are films we cannot sit through watching even once”.

How does she manage to strike the right balance between playing intense roles like in Finding Fanny and Padmavati and glamorous roles like in Tamasha? “It is unfair and wrong on the part of people to dismiss off any actress as just a glamorous heroine, because hard work and the efforts that you put in are the same whether you are playing a glamorous leading lady or an intense character in any film. Did Katrina Kaif work less hard in a film like Jab Tak Hai Jaan? How can you call her a showpiece in it? If a heroine looks glamorous in any film, it also involves a lot of hard work. I would like to believe that I have done great work in films like Lafange Parindey, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey etc but because they didn’t do well at the box office, no one remembers them and only talk about my performances in films like Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Goliyonki Raas Leela Ram Leela,Chennai Express, Piku and Bajirao Mastani.

What is her approach as an actor? “Frankly, I’d say that I always try to make it a point to experiment as an actress with my role. Every actor has his or her own sets of difficulties as well as challenges when he or she sets out to tackle his or her role. What is my difficulty or challenge may not be anyone else’s and you have got to tackle your role using your own gut instinct by learning from your experience and growing richer with that. I generally read my script again and again and make it a point to rehearse with my co-actors and improvise but ultimately go with what my director says.

What has been Deepika’s biggest challenge in real life till date?” In my real life, my biggest difficulty has been to move away from my comfort zone from my parents and start my career on my own in a different place like Mumbai after coming from Bengaluru. I would say that it was my biggest challenge. I think the biggest challenge for an actress is to see to it that the audience loves you at the end of the film and do not start believing that you are the character that you are playing in real life”.

How embarrassing was it for Deepika to play Ranbir’s romantic lead in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani earlier and Tamasha, since she was in a relationship with him and had broken off? “ I played a very simple next-door kind of a girl in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and could easily identify with my character in the second half of the film. If you want to know whether we were feeling awkward to face each other while shooting for films, I’d say that in the first place we would not have been cast if we were awkward to face each other. I think Ranbir and I are classic examples of two mature people who continue to be friends though we were once in a relationship and it did not work out. Today’s audience is very forgiving and forgets what is happening in the actor’s personal life and looks forward to their next release.

Is there any actor with whom she would like to work with but has not got the opportunity as yet? “I want to work with both Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. People forget that everything takes its own time and you just cannot force destiny. I do not think I am the person to say No but sometimes things work out while sometimes they don’t. Like I said, you cannot force destiny or fight with it. If you are an actress, you had better be professional to the core. At the end of the day, you should be pragmatic enough to know that your personal life is quite different from your professional life and have implicit trust in your guy.”

In what way was it different working with Ranbir Kapoor after working with Shah Rukh Khan? Deepika confesses that unlike Shah Rukh Khan from whom she learnt a lot as far as acting is concerned while she was working in Om Shanti Om, it was more of a give and take situation with co-actor Ranbir Kapoor as far as Bachna Ae Haseeno , Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Tamasha were concerned, since he was also learning the craft with only one film Saawaria as an actor to his credit. “Ranbir’s take and approach to cinema is completely different since he comes from the school of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Besides the fact that he is a fabulous actor, Ranbir is also a fantastic dancer.”

Deepika admits that acting was not at all in her mind when she had set out to do modeling. It was after a chance encounter with the producer of the Kannada film Aishwarya that she ended up acting in a Kannada film even before Om Shanti Om happened to her. “As far as I am concerned, acting is an art by itself. It is not a degree course, which you master in three years. Though I learnt acting at Anupam Kher’s Acting School, I feel that acting is inborn in you and will remain with you till you die.”

Ask her what difference did she find between acting in Kannada film and Hindi films and she does not bat an eyelid before she shoots back. “Cinema is Cinema, whether it is Bengali, Kannada or for that matter Hindi Cinema and there is not much of a difference at all because cinema basically is a visual medium that deals with emotions.”

Deepika confesses that she is choosy when it comes to saying yes to film offers, though not pricy at all. “If the script and the narration both excite me, my gut feeling tells me whether to do a film or not and then I decide to be a part of a project, not otherwise. At the end of the day, I want to be part of good Cinema.”

Deepika says that since she is a girl who was born in the 80’s, she is able to relate to basically only films which were released in the 80’s and 90’s of actors like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. Her favourite actors, she avers, are Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, while Mani Ratnam, Farhan Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali rate high in her wish list as far as directors are concerned.

I ask Deepika whether the gain of Cinema is the loss of badminton, as far as she is concerned. She does not mince words. “I’d like to contribute to Indian sports as much as possible. I’d love to continue to play badminton from time to time though cricket hogs the limelight and hockey is our national sports.”

Did she ever dream that she would act in not one or two but three films of Sanjay Leela Bhansali? “From never having been to a film set before and to not knowing how to deliver dialogues to today enjoying the craft so much I am the most peaceful and happiest when I am in front of the camera. I think that’s the evolution. And then along the way you meet a Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who adds so much meaning to me not just as an actor and performer, but also as a human being. 11 years ago, thinking that I don’t fit the mould of being a Bhansali heroine, and today working in three films with him back-to-back. It’s been indeed a pretty incredible journey and I should confess that I sense a soul, heart and mind connect with Sanjay Sir. We just understand each other by just looking at each other. I think you can only get to that stage when you reach a different sort of, almost a spiritual level of creativity, where you are not afraid to take risks or failure. Everything you want to do is coming with a pure heart and a pure intention.”