Actress Deepika Padukone has found not only success but also her voice of late. Considered by many as the most bankable actress in B-Town today (thanks to films like Piku, Happy New Year, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express and Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela ), the actress is refreshingly candid when it comes to expressing her views on a variety of subjects besides films.
Deepika might be one of the highest-paid actresses in Bollywood, but she cannot ignore the yawning pay gap in the film industry between the male stars and the leading ladies.
“There is a situation and there’s no running away from it. But I feel that there is too much emphasis on the pay gap in Bollywood. I look into the situation and instead of whining about it, I look at how different things were earlier and how the situation has improved already,” she said.
Having always stressed that she has grown up in a household where her mother has been a strong support to her father (badminton ace Prakash Padukone), Deepika said, “Fortunately, there has never been this gender disparity in my growing up years. I’d like to believe that a man has the same sort of role in a woman’s life and her career.”
One area where she does want to match up to her male co-stars is in the arena of action films, which often garner the biggest box office numbers. Deepika asserted. “I want to do an action film as it has not been explored to its full potential in India as compared to the West.”
Despite her obvious passion for films, Deepika wears her current success lightly and does not equate it with anything tangible. After giving so many hits, the actress still feels nervous on a film set. “I get butterflies in my stomach not knowing what I am going to do on a film set and I like that nervousness. The number of lives you can impact in a positive way through your work or your life is success to me,” she expressed.
Having being practically written off as just a pretty face after her first film, Om Shanti Om (2007) the actress believes very little in the luck factor for her success and instead believes in working hard and being patient. “I was on my own after the first film. I was presented so well and I felt that’s how it is always going to be, but it was not.”
Deepika fought back the spate of indifferent films that followed and finally made her mark five years later with Cocktail (2012). “Patience is something that we are all losing very fast, especially today’s youngsters who I feel want everything instantly,” she observed.
The actress moved away from her hometown, Bangalore, and her parents at a very young age to work in Mumbai. She has worked hard and patiently for her success but she misses her parents as they do not live with her in Mumbai and she remains anxious for their well being. Despite tasting the heady brew of fame, Deepika is ready to quit everything and live a normal life if ever the need arises. “I can happily give up everything and live the life I was living in Bangalore,” she asserted.