In the two years since Padmaavat released, Deepika Padukone got married, became an investor, started her own production house-Ka Productions-and became the chairperson of MAMI (Mumbai Film Festival). You could now see Padukone and her husband, Ranveer Singh, attend a screening of Martin Scorsese’s gangster drama The Irishman at Mumbai’s Regal Cinema. “I found [The Irishman] highly overrated, but I can’t deny it was an incredible experience to watch actors like them [Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci] on the big screen at such an iconic cinema,” she says. “Not everyone had something to do with films, but all of us who were present are passionate about them.”
It’s this passion that has helped her deal with death threats and the vitriol of fringe groups like the Rajput Karni Sena. With Chhapaak-inspired by the life of acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal, and her first film as a producer-Padukone doesn’t just show how women are subjected to violence, but also their tenacity to fight and bounce back. “The biggest takeaway from my encounters with Laxmi was her candidness, sense of humour and her borderline-cocky confidence,” says Padukone. “Chhapaak isn’t just emotional and heavy, it’s also upbeat and funny. There’s hope.”
Written by director Meghna Gulzar and Atika Chohan, the film sees Padukone play Malti, who takes legal recourse to ban the sale of acid in shops. She is on a mission to end the atrocity of acid attacks. Instead of taking the biopic route, the writers highlight the lives of survivors. “The biggest challenge these girls face, once they have overcome their trauma, is of inclusion,” says Gulzar. “They begin to accept the face that looks back in the mirror. They put on make-up and dress up. Then what? Do they work in a beauty parlour or in a five-star hotel? That’s the gap.”
Padukone describes her role as Malti the most “emotionally taxing” of her acting career of 12 years. “Somewhere it did take a toll,” says Padukone, who had a counsellor on set while filming some of the hardest parts. Research involved getting to know the woman Laxmi was before the attack. “She has become more quiet, articulate,” she says. “Laxmi has evolved.” In a way, these are attributes applicable to Padukone after Padmaavat, which, despite not releasing in Rajasthan and Gujarat, earned Rs 283 crore at the box office.
While many of her peers have been reluctant to take a firm liberal stand, Padukone, on Tuesday, turned up at Jawaharlal Nehru University to express her solidarity with protesting students. Unlike other colleagues, she has not been photographed with powerful politicians. Even as Akshay Kumar was rebuked for his Canadian citizenship and for not voting in the Lok Sabha election, Padukone quietly shared a photo on Instagram with an inked finger, laying rest to claims that she had held on to her Danish passport. More than her words, her actions speak volumes. “There is certainly more thought behind what I do and why I do it,” she says. “Not to say that I don’t make mistakes along the way. I would like to believe I don’t do things that are expected of me or because everybody else is doing it. [I ask myself] what do I want to do or say? Is this something I believe in?” She also trusts the value system instilled in her by her parents, Prakash and Ujjala Padukone: “I’ve never seen them misuse power or their celebrity status. Sometimes we take parenting for granted, but I really do think it plays a huge role in how you turn out.”
Padukone talks about “making a positive impact” through her work. The name of her company, Ka, in Egyptian theology, means one of the three parts of the soul. “It is the part that gets left behind after death,” she says. “I’d like people to remember me for my work.” It is why Chhapaak stands apart in her oeuvre. She isn’t playing a well-styled heroine or an urban woman. With Chhapaak, she expects her fans to come see her, but also someone entirely different. There’s, however, one similarity between the two-they are both fighters.
read the full story about Fighter to the Finish
#theheadlines #breakingnews #headlinenews #newstoday #latestnews #aajtak #ndtv #timesofindia #indiannews
Leave a Reply