INTERVIEW | Amid Chhapaak release, JNU row, Deepika Padukone talks about 'wings of courage'
Three days ahead of the release of her first movie this year, Deepika Padukone took an unprecedented step. The actor showed up at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in Delhi and stood in solidarity with the students and teachers who were attacked by masked goons on January 5. Some fans applauded her stand while those who opposed vowed to block her on social media and boycott Chhapaak. Needless to say, the 34-year-old put her production debut at stake with her bold act.
Perhaps, it is this courage that helped her tell the story of acid attack victim Laxmi Agarwal in Chhapaak. Deepika thinks that this film has been the most physically and emotionally draining in her career so far. “None of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali films had the effect that Chhapaak had on me. I did a lot of prep but to live those final moments and it has deeply affected me. I don’t think I was aware of the nuances of acid attack survival as much as I am today. My awareness was as much as anybody else’s. When you do a film like this you realise what does someone do after an acid attack,” says the actor.
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The actor’s journey in Bollywood has been one of constant growth and learning. “I hope to grow and learn for the next 20 years or else I will stagnate and get bored. I was criticised in the beginning but I took it up as a challenge and didn’t let it affect me. Instead, I analysed the criticisms and worked on them,” says the actor. She goes on to reveal that her motivation comes from the fact that she was a sportsperson. “When you are an athlete your view points change. Playing competitive sports is very important. It makes you a different person. I can see that difference in the attitude of my contemporaries whether it is criticism, defeat or success. There are cases where people become successful overnight but they can’t handle fame and you see their personality change. Sports teaches you to handle failure and success. It has taught me discipline, hard work, dedication and all of these things,” she explains.
What was the takeaway as the producer of Chhapaak?
“To balance creativity and commerce is diametrically opposite. I’ve always been a conscious actor. Whether it’s how much I am being paid or how much my team is working or how well they are being fed or rested. These were things that I was conscious of even when I was not a producer. As a producer, I was a lot more involved. As an actor, I was executing what I was being told. But as a producer, I know the strategy, marketing plan and everything that happens behind the scenes,” she explains.
Deepika has been handling her own finances from a very young age. On her experiences of managing money, she says, “Being a producer is not very different from being an actor.
But I can definitely say that I have learnt to value money at a very young age. I have grown up in a middle-class family. My parents never indulged us. But it’s important to spend money in right place. I don’t know how big producers work but I know the basics. I have heard people complain about big production houses in Bollywood.”