'There's a sense of familiarity here'

Flying High

Deepika Padukone has come a long way since her debut in Bollywood and has matured as an actor, to say the least.

From being her glamourous self in ‘Cocktail’ to perfecting the nerdy role in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, she has done more than others can say about their career. Metrolife caught up with her on her recent visit to the City to inaugurate the new Tissot boutique and launch its luxury automatic watch.

She will soon be seen opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’, where she plays a sari-clad Tamilian girl with a don for a father. Since the trailer released, the one thing that everyone’s been talking about is her accent. “I think the only thing that was tough to crack was the accent. Once we got it, I really started enjoying it,” she says, admitting that it wasn’t too hard for her to get into the character.

“What helped was the fact that I’ve grown up in Bangalore. There’s been a lot of Tamilian and South Indian culture in my life. Being familiar with it gave me the opportunity to throw in some impromptu words here and there and have fun; even with something as simple as amma or appa,” shares Deepika, adding, “there were no workshops but we had a person from Chennai who was instrumental in everything we’ve done in the film — be it the clothes, accent or nuances of the culture.”

This is the second film after her Bollywood debut Om Shanti Om in which she has shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan. Asked how different the two experiences were, she replies, “It was absolutely the same. He hasn’t changed even a little bit and in fact, I felt a lot more comfortable around him now than earlier. But that probably has more to do with me than him.” Like any other actress of her time, she confesses that she is always hoping for a good film to come her way.

But what she has her eyes on at present is Imtiaz Ali’s next project. “Imtiaz is someone I’m really fond of as a friend and a director. I’ve done one film (Love Aaj Kal) with him in the past. I’d love to be a part of either this film or any other film he works on. But there’s nothing concrete on it yet,” she says.

The year 2013 has been a good one for Deepika, who is content with the response she has got for ‘Race 2’ and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. But she has more to look forward to.
“There’s ‘Chennai Express’ releasing during Eid. Then there’s Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela releasing in November. I’m also doing a film with Homi Adajania called ‘Finding Fanny Fernandes’. It’s going to be an English-Konkani film but it’s too soon to give out details,” notes the actress.

   When it comes to Bangalore, she looks for any given opportunity to hop on a flight and return to the City. “I miss Bangalore because my family’s here and this is where I’ve grown up. There’s a sense of familiarity here. It’s nice to come down every now and then and spend time here,” she admits. Does she have any favourite hangouts here? “Home is my favourite place. Given the life that I have, travelling and eating outside all the time, I crave to be home. When I come home, I love eating anything that mum makes for me,” she wraps up.