Throwback Alert: Deepika Padukone’s 5 most memorable characters

Deepika Padukone made her dream debut with ‘Om Shanti Om’ opposite Shahrukh Khan in 2007. With her versatility and craftsmanship, she paved her path to stardom. Touted as the most reliable and phenomenal actors of the industry, Deepika has had the opportunity to bring the most difficult characters to life be it Mastani from ‘Bajirao Mastani’, Tara Maheshwari from ‘Tamasha’ or Rani Padmavati from ‘Padmaavat’. Her craft proves that she is simply the best.

The viewers still hold on to the characters she has played and relate to it on different levels. And the kind of adulation, love, and respect she has received from the audiences both on-screen and off-screen is heartwarming.

Some roles stand out from the others and have left an indelible mark on her fans. Deepika took us down the memory lane of her top 5 of career-defining roles. She also shared what went into creating those characters.

Deepika has often said that it doesn’t come naturally to her to dissect the process of playing these characters however at the event yesterday, she did throw some light on 5 of her most cherished characters – Veronica from ‘Cocktail’, Meenakshi (Meenamma) from ‘Chennai Express’, Leela from ‘Ram Leela’, Naina Talwar from ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and Piku from ‘Piku’.

Deepika Padukone’s 5 memorable characters

‘Cocktail’ (2012)

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Deepika Padukone’s career graph took a turn with ‘Cocktail’. She has been basking in back-to-back success ever since this film. Deepika played the character of the dynamic and complicated Veronica, a strong and independent charmer. Veronica was a holocaust but equally vulnerable – Troubles were naturally drawn to her. Seeping into the skin of the character to the T, Deepika outshined every actor in the frame.

Reminiscing over the character she said, “Veronica allowed me to explore a side that I had never explored and opened me in a lot of ways. I was a very inhibited actor and I had to shed a lot of my inhibitions. It’s one character I would like to flirt around with every now and then.”

‘Chennai Express’ (2013)

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Deepika brought the character of Meenamma to life. She channelled her comic side and stunned the audiences with her performance. However, it wasn’t easy for her to enact Meenamma. Talking about this, Deepika said, “I’ve been after Rohit (Rohit Shetty) to take Meenamma forward. If something comes along, I will happily do it.”

‘Goliyon ki Rasleela Ram-Leela’ (2013)

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In the very same year, Deepika gave the performance of her lifetime by the portrayal of Leela. She spoke about working with Mr. Bhansali being very taxing as it gets difficult at times to match up with his impromptu ways of working. Deepika delivered the rather difficult and long dialogues with a lot of ease and finesse.

This performance is considered to be her career-best and it is closest to her heart. ‘Ram Leela’ is her favourite Bhansali movie of all her Bhansali projects.

‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013)

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In this movie, her portrayal of Naina with her girl-next-door charm and her innocence won everyone’s hearts. Deepika enjoyed playing the transition from being the reserved girl wearing glasses to a fun-loving, glamorous girl. “I enjoyed a lot playing Naina. I saw a lot of her in me, and a lot of me in her. Naina’s evolution is in some ways like my own; so portraying her transformation wasn’t hard at all,” shared the leggy beauty. 

‘Piku’ (2015)

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This movie holds a special place in Deepika’s life – her most cherished one. She managed to enact the short-tempered, unmarried, established architect with a lot of finesse. “Given a chance, I would do the movie all over again. I miss Piku, I miss the experience of making the movie. We were all in a really good place when we were making the movie. We had sets that were fully functional – the house, for instance. Shoojit (the director) told us to go about our parts as if we were really living in the house and the camera would follow us. In that sense, we really “lived” the film and those moments were beautifully put together and presented to the audience,” said the actress.

Deepika has come a long way as an actress and we can’t hold onto our excitement of her upcoming projects. She will be next seen in ‘Chhapaak’, a film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, which is helmed by Meghna Gulzar. She will be also playing Romi Dev in Kabir Khan directorial ’83’ opposite Ranveer Singh.

She has also turned producer for both her upcoming projects ‘Chhapaak” and ’83’.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh vs Ranbir Kapoor – Deepika Padukone shows the exact difference between the two