Deepika Padukone On Bringing Indian Cinema To Hollywood, Tackling Mental Health Taboos And Helping Underrepresented Communities

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For two years in a row, Deepika Padukone has kickstarted India’s box office with a bang: In 2023, the acclaimed actor and producer reunited with her Om Shanti Om co-star Shah Rukh Khan for espionage actioner Pathaan, which went on to take $76 million in India and crossed the $100 million global box office milestone without a China release.

This year Padukone starred in Viacom/Marflix’s Hindi aviation actioner Fighter (from Pathaan director Siddharth Anand), which grossed $43 million globally in just 30 days. “Of course, the success of a movie is important, and box office is important, and the awards and accolades are important, but for me, as a person, the time I’ve had with people and the experiences I have on the set of a film are the most important,” Padukone says.

The former Cannes jury member, who is now one of India’s biggest female stars, first broke into the Hindi cinema scene in 2007 with blockbuster hit Om Shanti Om opposite Bollywood legend Khan.

The film is largely considered one of the country’s most classic titles, and when its director, Farah Khan, cast unknown model and former badminton athlete Padukone (Deepika’s father is Indian world champion player Prakash Padukone) as its leading lady without even auditioning her, it quickly catapulted her to star status. “It was sort of unheard of,” says Padukone of the experience. “I remember thinking, ‘Why would they put so much money into such a big movie for such a big superstar and then cast me opposite without even an audition?’” But, according to Farah Khan, she saw something in Padukone that had yet been undiscovered — a unique mix of the old and modern world of Indian cinema. “When I think back, I think of myself as so young and naïve and lost but at the