Deepika Padukone - An Asian Woman of Today

Looking absolutely perfect in a low-cut gold minidress with brown hoops and more than a little attitude, Deepika Padukone looks ready to face the world once again on the cover of Asian Woman magazine. Inside, the Housefull actress talks about the trials and tribulations of being an actress in the public eye and constantly having to endure rumours made up about her.

Talking of Deeps rumours, it’s said that Ranbir Kapoor, currently filming Anjaana Anjaani with Priyanka Chopra, is hoping for a reunion with Deepika. He is said to have been influenced by his parents towards breaking off with her and is now regretting it. When asked on set if he was hoping to make up with her, he is said to have replied forlornly, “I hope so.”

Deepika, meanwhile, will soon begin filming Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khele Hum Jeejaan Se with Abhishek Bachchan, in which she plays freedom fighter Kalpana Dutta, an inspirational figure in the Chittagong Uprising, and she is looking forward to the release of Karthik Calling Karthik early next year.

Depressed Deepika Takes A Break

Depressed following the break-up of her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is planning a vacation in America to take her mind off things. "My brother is getting married," she confirms, "It is the first big wedding in the family and I am looking forward to it. I believe it is very important to make time for family, no matter how hectic one’s life is."

Hectic is certainly the word for Deepika's life at the moment. She has recently been working on Karthik Calling Karthik and Housefull. She has also signed up for a movie with Imran Khan to be directed by debutant Danish Aslam. Producer Kunal Kohli recently confirmed the news. "It's true. We have finalized Imran and Deepika for the film. We are hoping to start the film early next year."

Deepika will also be starring opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s next movie Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, based on the Chittagong Uprising. Sunita Gowariker confirmed the news. "Yes, Deepika is on. We are really looking forward to working with her," she said.

Deepika's Performance in LAK through Critic Reviews!

Deepika Padukone is the real surprise. Looking her best ever, Deepika delivers a surprisingly effortless performance. A scene where she checks herself out in the mirror before heading for a date is a gem of a moment. And yes! For the first time we discover that the girl knows how to cry.
-Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18)

Both Saif and Deepika come up with their career-best performances in LOVE AAJ KAL. Deepika looks ethereal. Most importantly, in LOVE AAJ KAL, she acts very, very well. Matching up to Saif is no mean achievement and she does it in several scenes. This should be the turning point in her career.
-Taran Adarsh

Deepika is definitive and strong as Meera, the modern girl who has an individuality of her own.
-Nikhat Kazmi, TNN

Deepika Padukone puts in an equally compelling act and shares superb chemistry with Saif.
-Gaurav Malani/INDIATIMES MOVIES

Deepika wins hearts not just by looking extremely attractive throughout but also with the effortless ease she portrays her complex character
-Blog Taragana

As for Deepika, she is looking her age and has delivered one of her best performances ever. The chemistry between the duo is casual and sans any melodrama, making is increasingly believable.
-Spicezee Bureau

Deepika comes out shining. Put her in the hands of a good director and she can do wonders. Imtiaz coaxes out a good performance from her. But believe me; this girl can do much, much better. She stands up to the much-experienced Saif Ali Khan in the lighter moments as well as the more intense ones. If she makes the right choices, she will be an actress to watch out for.
-Martin D'Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network

Deepika Padukone's cool demeanor and gorgeous look should prove a winner for the film. With this film, Deepika should be able to silence the critics who see her only as a 'glamour doll', after her debut in Shah Rukh Khan's 'Om Shanti Om'. Her interaction with Saif Ali Khan at the marriage shows her maturity in the field of acting.
-MagnaMags

Acting-wise, the lead players-Saif and Deepika - depict their characters very faithfully. Saif renders so many shades to his character, including playing the dual role, to make it look just real. Deepika stuns the audience by her beauty and acting skill. Both have performed their best.
-Smashits

Would this film have worked without its two main players? Deepika Padukone’s Mira is a moving image of modern misapprehensions on love, a magnificent montage of seductive emotions mapped on a face that’s meant to be a classic yet a ‘Mira’-image of contemporary times.
It’s significant that Deepika plays an art restorer. In her performance she indeed restores the era of the leading lady who doesn’t need to talk constantly or take off her clothes to be supremely appealing. Deepika creates a graph for her character without growing judgemental about the character’s obvious shortcomings.
-Subhash K Jha

Deepika Padukone is a pleasure to look at as she delivers a solid performance, quite a welcome change after her disappointing turn in last year’s Bachna Ae Haseeno
-india.com

Padukone delivers the best of her four performances so far (six if you count the double roles in Om Shanti Om and Chandni Chowk To China). Though she does not have scenes that require too many emotions in the pre-interval portions, she impresses with her histrionics in the second half.
-Aniruddha Guha

Both Saif and Deepika are convincing as Jai and Meera. Saif has pulled of an astounding act as urbane, flirty, idiotic, confused Jai and is likeable as the younger Veer too. Deepika has enacted way beyond her previous roles.
-IndiaGlitz

It's Deepika's best work yet. Aside from looking stunning, she naturally transforms her character from the first scene to the very last scene.
-Desihits

But with Imtiaz Ali at the helm, her latest film Love Aaj Kal seems to have put Deepika finally in the big league. Most critics are singing praise about Deepika’s amazing performance in the film that marks Saif Ali Khan’s debut as a producer and especially her capability to emulate with her silence and her eyes. We’re sure that Deepika is a happy girl toda, y because her performance is a slap on everybody’s face who thought that Kareena would have done a much better job than her!
-Khaleej Times

Deepika Padukone is an image of grace in a role that requires her to talk more through the eyes than words. She doesn’t ham, nor is there any apparent effort on her part to underplay her character
-Apunkachoice

Deepika Padukone shows that she is not only gorgeous but also a fine actress Bollywood has ever seen.
-Radiosargam

Deepika Padukone's role requires her to say a few smart lines, and a couple of emotional scenes with reddened eyes. The rest of it she gets by by looking amused at the proceedings. Her staid look, however, can pass off as an extremely 'dignified' performance.
-Deepa Garimella / fullhyd.com

LAK is Deepika’s fourth film and she proves she can act. Not only does she look very pretty, her performance is natural to the core. She makes a good pair with Saif too. In a few scenes, she expresses herself beautifully even without dialogues.
-SBO Reviews

Love Aaj Kal beats Ghajini! - Deepika

Mumbai: Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz Ali's latest, has opened to packed houses. In many places, the film, which has released in over 1800 screens, overtook last year's record setter, Ghajini.

"The film has taken a superb initial," says Komal Nahta, editor of The Film Street Journal. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh seconds that. "The opening's on par with Ghajini. In the overseas, the film will be one of the biggest hits." Devang Sampat of Cinemax confirms that the film has opened better than Ghajini in all its properties.

The film, about contemporary relationships in urban India, where the protagonists are not afraid of calling off their relationship in their pursuit for personal goals, seems to have struck a chord with the youth. "It was like watching me, or one of my friends, up there on screen," says 22-year-old aspiring filmmaker, Viral Shah. "I have had a long distance relationship when I was studying abroad and could relate to the scenes."

Law student Shruti Kant enjoyed the flashback portions, which had the more 'Hindi film' type of a love story. "The film intertwined love stories from then (Kal) and now (Aaj) very well and appealed to the romantic in me." Shruti also feels that grey areas in the film, like the heroine realising she doesn't want to be with her husband two days after marriage, was identifiable. "I completely related to Deepika's character."

The film's appeal may be restricted to the youth due to its content and treatment by writer-director Imtiaz Ali, but its not something actor-producer Saif Ali Khan and he need to worry about.The major chunk of the film going audience in India is made up of youngsters, says Adarsh, and the film appeals to them. "Even though few over the age of forty may like it, it will be strongly patronised by women for its emotions, an advantage even Ghajini didn't enjoy."

Whether in the final analysis, the film will better Ghajini at the box office or be as patronised as Jab We Met on the small screen, remains to be seen. But for now, its Love All at the theatres.

Break Ke Baad - Deepika Padukone

Right after Deepika Padukone's break-up with Ranbir Kapoor, she's doing a film called Break Ke Baad with Imran Khan.

That's what Kunal Kohli has chosen to call his the first film that he's producing and not directing. Says Kunal, "My director Danish Aslam and I always wanted to call his film Break Ke Baad because it's about a couple Imran and Deepika who break up and want to come together."

Mil gaya

The title was registered with someone else. Kunal and his team couldn't locate the legal owners of the title anywhere in Mumbai. "We finally tracked it down to Bangalore to a 60-year old gentleman who deals in electrical goods. He owns a company called Seva Films. He hopes to make films that would change the world. Break Ke Baad is one of the titles he had registered. He loved our idea and gladly parted with the title." A token amount of money exchanged hands.

However getting permission to shoot in Delhi was far more difficult. Says Kunal, "I could write a thesis on what I've gone through to get permission to shoot in Delhi." Kunal's problems as a producer don't end there. He has been denied permission to shoot on the Gold Coast. "So we'll have to shoot in Cape Town and fudge the Gold Coast." Break Ke Baad is set in Delhi and Australia.

This is Kohli's first film as an independent producer. He is yet to finalise the cast for his own directorial venture. "But I'm so glad Danish has got a dream pair. Imran and Deepika together sounds good to everyone."

Pehle Bhi...
Milind Soman had registered the title Hum Tum. When Kunal was making the Saif-Preity starrer, he wanted only that title and Soman finally sold it to him for 1.5 lakhs!