Between
being
a
blank
slate
and
someone
who
is
certain
about
their
skills,
Deepika
Padukone
says
she
wishes
to
be
a
blend
of
both
as
the
actor
completes
15
years
in
Hindi
cinema
in
2022.
The
former
model
made
her
Bollywood
debut
with
2007's
reincarnation
romantic
drama
Om
Shanti
Om
and
has
built
a
filmography
boasting
titles
like
Love
Aaj
Kal,
Cocktail,
Piku,
Goliyon
Ki
Raasleela
Ram-Leela,
and
Padmaavat,
among
others.
"It
has
been
so
much
(about)
learning,
processing,
understanding,
growing,
evolving.
I
hope
that
journey
for
me
always
continues,"
Padukone,
who
made
her
film
debut
with
the
2006
Kannada
movie
Aishwarya,
said.
She
formed
her
own
production
company
Ka
Productions
in
2018,
under
which
she
produced
and
starred
in
Chhapaak
(2020)
and
83
(2021).
Also
an
entrepreneur,
Padukone
is
the
founder
of
the
Live
Love
Laugh
Foundation,
which
creates
awareness
on
mental
health
in
India.
The
36-year-old
actor,
who
has
also
starred
in
the
Hollywood
film
XXX:
Return
of
Xander
Cage
(2017),
said
she
hopes
to
keep
evolving
as
a
person
and
professional.
"I
don't
walk
on
to
the
set
with
the
thought
that
I'm
so
many
films
old
or
I
know
better
than
all
of
you.
My
approach
is
what
I
can
learn
from
the
set
of
these
new
people.
It's
a
new
film,
director
and
experience."
"Be
a
mix
of
a
blank
slate
and
someone
who
has
experience.
Your
past
experience
of
films
also
comes
in.
To
be
able
to
find
that
balance,
it's
a
bit
of
both.
The
scariest
thing
that
can
happen
is
to
stagnate," Padukone
told
PTI
in
an
interview
over
Zoom.
Next
up
for
her
is
Gehraiyaan,
a
drama
on
modern-day
relationships.
It
also
stars
Siddhant
Chaturvedi,
Ananya
Panday,
and
Dhairya
Karwa,
with
Naseeruddin
Shah
and
Rajat
Kapur
in
pivotal
roles.
In
the
Shakun
Batra
directorial,
Padukone
plays
Alisha,
whom
she
simply
described
as
"human".
The
actor
said
the
film
is
an
attempt
to
instill
empathy
in
the
audience
towards
all
types
of
people.
"The
process
of
this
film
has
made
me
realise
there's
no
white,
black
or
grey.
It's
actually
human.
We
categorise
characters
because
we
just
don't
know
characters
like
this
enough
in
cinema.
"It's
very
easy
to
say
this
one
is
flawed,
this
one
is
a
villain
or
a
hero.
We
have
tried
to
humanise
this
character
and
understand
the
reason
behind
her
choices.
Hopefully
we
have
been
able
to
achieve
that.
Alisha
is
an
"ambitious" person
with
baggage
from
the
past
who
is
seeking
a
better
life,
she
said,
adding
that
women
with
ambition
are
often
judged
by
society.
"A
lot
of
times
ambition
is
addressed
in
a
negative
way,
especially
when
a
woman
is
ambitious.
Characters
like
her
get
judged.
It's
ok
to
be
ambitious
and
want
a
better
life.
The
minute
there
is
emotion,
empathy
and
understanding,
you're
with
the
character," she
said.
"When
so
many
different
things
are
thrown
at
you,
what
are
the
choices
you
make
in
your
life
at
that
moment?
They
say,
sometimes
in
the
most
stressful
situations
you
get
to
know
a
person,"
she
added.
The
actor
said
she
took
her
time
to
give
her
nod
to
the
project
after
Batra
narrated
the
story
to
her.
"Roles
like
this
are
extremely
demanding.
These
parts
come
from
an
extremely
deep
emotional
place
within...
I
took
about
two
days
to
get
back
to
him.
That
really
was
the
time
that
I
took
to
process
the
narration.
'This
is
going
to
demand
a
lot
from
me.
Am
I
ready
for
that
kind
of
commitment?'
"But
the
minute
I
make
that
commitment
I
don't
really
think
about
how
difficult
it
is.
All
I'm
trying
to
do
on
set
is
be
as
honest
as
possible
to
the
character
and
the
scene.
Some
days
will
be
tough,
some
days
it
will
be
easy.
That's
the
way
it
is."
While
it
is
an
extremely
realistic
and
layered
character,
she
said,
there
are
light
moments
to
Alisha.
"It
has
been
(both)
exhausting
and
fun,"
she
added.
Jointly
backed
by
Dharma
Productions
and
Viacom18
Studios
in
association
with
Batra's
Jouska
Films,
"Gehraiyaan" is
an
Amazon
Original
film
which
will
start
streaming
from
February
11.
The
film
is
also
garnering
attention
for
being
one
of
the
first
Indian
projects
to
have
an
intimacy
director
on
board.
Dar
Gai,
an
India-based
Ukraine-born
filmmaker,
is
credited
as
the
intimacy
director
on
"Gehraiyaan".
Padukone
said
intimacy
is
part
of
the
movie
and
not
the
main
premise.
"(Having
an
intimacy
director)
adds
an
element
of
security,
comfort
and
trust.
But
there
is
so
much
more
to
the
film
than
intimacy.
The
intimacy
comes
in
when
you
are
trying
to
be
authentic
with
modern-day
relationships.
It's
just
a
part
of
the
film.
A
lot
of
time
we
shy
away
from
showing
what
relationships
in
real
life
are
or
what
they
could
be
on
screen,"
she
added.
After
Gehraiyaan,
Padukone
has
films
like
Pathan,
Project
K
and
Fighter
on
her
slate.
Pathan
reunites
the
actor
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
her
co-star
of
three
films
Om
Shanti
Om,
Chennai
Express
and
Happy
New
Year.
Directed
by
Siddharth
Anand
and
produced
by
Yash
Raj
Films,
the
film
is
expected
to
be
released
by
2022
end,
she
said.
"We
are
in
the
process
of
finishing
Pathan
now
which
should
hopefully
be
released
by
the
end
of
this
year.
We
have
a
last
schedule
left."
Nag
Ashwin's
sci-fi
movie
Project
K
will
see
Padukone
opposite
Baahubali
star
Prabhas.
In
Fighter,
also
directed
by
Anand,
she
will
share
the
screen
with
Hrithik
Roshan.
"I
started
'Project
K'
with
Prabhas
two
months
ago,
we
are
doing
it
in
multiple
languages.
It's
a
pan
India
film.
I'll
start
shooting
for
Fighter
in
the
next
couple
of
months.
All
these
are
with
different
actors,
stories
and
directors.
I'm
looking
forward
to
all
of
them," she
added.