'John is a complete gentleman'

Flattering words

Several hit movies, fiery item songs and two whirlwind romances later, she’s become representative of everything that audiences across the country look for in Bollywood — glamour, confidence and of course, breathtaking beauty.

But it’s not just the face and body that have made Deepika famous – she’s also worked with some fantastic co-stars in critically-acclaimed films, like Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan and Pradeep Sarkar’s Lafangey Parindey. Her latest venture, Desi Boyz is a masala-filled combination of comedy, tragedy and a liberal dose of drama. She was in the City recently to promote it and Metrolife caught up with her to find out more.

Dressed in a lacy white dress and floral-print wedges, Deepika looked calm and relaxed. When asked how she looked so good, she quipped, “I’ve had a yummy south Indian breakfast in the morning – masala dosa!” On a more serious note, this Mount Carmel College-graduate says it’s good to be back in the City. “It really feels like I’m coming back home. Every time I have to promote a film, Bangalore is always on the agenda and I end up really looking forward to it. After all, it’s home,” she said simply.

Deepika hasn’t had much of a chance to work in female-centric movies. In fact, most of her roles have been significant only as the love-interest of the hero in the film. Desi Boyz marks no departure from this tradition — she plays the girlfriend of a fantasy-fulfilling male escort, who undoubtedly hogs more screen space than her. But Deepika says that this doesn’t bother her in the least. “These boys wouldn’t be boys if we weren’t in their lives,” she laughed.

She also admits to having a wonderful time working with John Abraham in the movie. “He’s a wonderful co-star,” she said, adding, “I think he’s very charming and he uses this to his advantage — by charming everyone around him. But he’s a complete gentleman and really amazing to work with.”

Deepika obviously had an absolute ball shooting for Desi Boyz, and recalled some fun moments she and her co-stars shared off the camera — or so they thought.

“Akshay had this emotional scene, in which he has to convince the judge why he’s right in what he was doing throughout the film. All of us were sitting in the court room as well. When the camera started rolling, John said we weren’t in the frame — and we believed him. Later on, when we checked the monitor, we saw Akshay delivering this emotional scene and all of us in our own world, doing our own thing! Akshay was furious — and it was all thanks to John,” she laughed.