Once dismissed for her awkward dialogue delivery, Deepika Padukone today is counted among one of the best female actors in the country. American news magazine Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, having proved her mettle in films such as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), Chennai Express (2013), Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Piku (2015) and Padmaavat (2018). In 2017, she made her Hollywood debut with the actioner XXX: Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel. Last year was nothing short of a blockbuster year for the actor with major successes in Pathaan and Jawan, both opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
DP’s new film is director Siddharth Anand’s Fighter which sees her playing Squadron Leader Minal ‘Minni’ Rathore. Padukone has been paired with actor Hrithik Roshan for the first time and is gung-ho about her role and the script. Although she did not confirm her rumoured presence in season 3 of the popular international series White Lotus, she did have a lot to say about her camaraderie with Roshan and her hopes from this movie. Edited excerpts from a conversation:
Your co-actor Hrithik Roshan has heaped a lot of compliments on you as an actor and a dancer. How do you respond to the praise and what did you find special about working with him?
For an actor and dancer of his calibre to say those things about me – I just don’t know how to take them seriously. I think it is always special when you work with someone for the first time. There is so much to discover. He has probably seen my work; I have seen his work. You always build these expectations in your head about a colleague and when you go on the sets, sometimes you get what you expect, at times more than what you expect and at times, just not what you expect at all. I had heard about this phenomenon of Hrithik Roshan but I experienced it for the first time when I worked with him. Everything we have heard about his craft, his process and his honesty - it is that and a lot more and it is the lot more that I experienced when I worked with him. Every line, every movement is given so much thought and yet, so effortless. We have both managed to be very honest with each other in our scenes and it has been fun and challenging. When the director asks for another take, it makes it more exciting because you never know what is going to come out of it. Most importantly, I feel I have learnt a lot from him. I don’t think I extracted his brain enough though. I am too shy, and I feel I would impose myself if I ask too many questions. I think I didn’t make the most of the opportunity.
Last year, you had grand successes in the shape of Pathaan and then Jawan. Do you think those numbers can be replicated with a film like Fighter?
When you make movies for the Box Office and do things in reverse, then you are not being true to the process and that always shows up eventually. In the work that Siddharth and I have done, I know that has never been the intention. The intention has been to tell a beautiful story which the audience can connect with and which will have a positive impact. It will also be something where I know I will have a great time while making the movie because the process is as important as the result. What makes Fighter even more special is that this is our tribute to every single fighter out there who puts their life at risk every single day so that we are safe. This is our thank you to them.
Pathaan and Jawan were big-budget mainstream extravaganzas – so is Fighter and we presume your next two ventures Kalki 2898 AD and Singham Again are in that space as well. Does that leave any space for smaller, intimate films such as Piku and Gehraiyaan at this juncture in your career?
The space is there; the writers have to write them. It will happen; it is a matter of time. I think post Covid, everyone was a bit rattled. It was a new experience for everyone and there were a lot of assumptions being made about where we are headed. Have things evolved? Yes, they have but I think we are jumping to conclusions very soon about what’s working and what’s not. At the end of the day, actors serve a script and a director. You need to be true to the process. As actors, we invest in stories, in people and in the journey and it does not matter if it happens to be a Rs 50-crore budget or a 25-crore budget. I am more than happy to do them. I have demonstrated that even post-pandemic with Gehraiyaan. I have been that actor even earlier with films such as Finding Fanny (2014), Chhapaak (2020), Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010) and others. I am most excited about telling stories, whether that happens to be a 500-crore film or a 50-crore film.
This is your third outing with Siddharth after Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) and Pathaan. What has been your analysis of him during these three films?
Apart from how hard working he is, it is how he does all of this with so much ease. When you watch him on set you will never imagine that he is the same director who has made movies such as War, Bang Bang, Pathaan and now Fighter. He is always singing or talking about food and eating! You really wonder how he gets time to make films! (laughs) Jokes apart, it is the ease with which he does what he does is something I have observed and discovered about him.
You have kicked ass in many action films but there has always been a male co-star with you, whether it is XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Pathaan, Jawan or now Fighter. Are you hopeful of a time when you would headline an action film?
Yes sure, wait for Shakti Shetty (her character in Singham Again). Having said that, you never anyway do anything alone. I don’t think women can succeed without men and I don’t think men can succeed without women. I think we need to rephrase the definition of feminism.
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