To
perfect
her
dialogue
delivery
and
diction
in
Om
Shanti
Om,
Deepika
Padukone
underwent
formal
training
from
Vinod
Tharani
for
almost
a
year.
During
rehearsals,
Vinod
would
imitate
SRK's
voice
and
speech
pattern
so
that
Deepika
could
get
her
diction
and
pauses
right
With
the
rollicking
box-office
success
of
Farah
Khan's
Om
Shanti
Om,
Deepika
Padukone
made
her
spectacular
debut
on
the
Indian
celluloid.
Not
only
did
the
model
turned
actress
sweep
away
with
all
the
accolades
for
her
gorgeous
looks
and
stunning
screen-presence,
but
Deepika's
well
honed
acting
credentials
impressed
critics
and
audiences
alike.
Not
many
know
that
in
order
perfect
her
dialogue
delivery,
diction
and
acting
skills,
Farah
Khan
asked
Deepika
to
undergo
formal
training
with
acting
guru
Vinod
Tharani
for
almost
a
year.
Deepika's
personal
training
began
two-three
months
before
the
shooting
for
OSO
began
in
full
swing.
And
that's
not
it.
During
rehearsals,
Vinod
would
imitate
Shahrukh
Khan's
voice
and
speech
pattern
so
that
Deepika
would
get
her
diction
and
pauses
right.
When
contacted,
Vinod
confirmed
the
news
and
shared
his
experience
of
training
Deepika
for
her
grand
Bollywood
innings.
"Yes,
Farah
called
me
and
asked
me
to
train
Deepika
in
acting,
dialogue
delivery
and
Hindi
diction
for
almost
a
year.
Because
Deepika
is
from
Bangalore,
we
needed
to
especially
work
on
her
command
over
Hindi.
She
spoke
Hindi
only
in
upper
notes,
so
it
was
my
duty
to
acquaint
her
with
lower
notes
of
the
language.
I
also
familiarized
her
with
classical
Hindi
vocabulary,
the
kind
that
is
spoken
in
classic
epics
such
as
Mahabharata
and
Ramayana.
I
also
recommended
a
list
of
Hindi
books
that
I
wanted
her
to
read.
Soon
she
was
able
to
pronounce
tough
words
such
as
antardesi
and
mahasangram
with
perfect
fluency
and
flow" says
Vinod.
But
those
who've
seen
the
film
would
find
it
impossible
to
believe
that
her
Hindi
has
been
worked
on.
"Yes,
that's
because
she
worked
very
very
hard
and
was
rigorously
trained
for
over
three
months",
quips
Vinod
So,
is
it
true
that
he
imitated
Shahrukh's
speech
pattern
during
rehearsals
so
that
Deepika
would
perfect
her
pauses
and
dialogue
delivery.
"Yes
I
would
imitate
SRK's
speech
pattern.
Shahrukh
has
a
very
unique
way
of
delivering
dialogues
and
his
pauses
during
romantic
or
emotional
scenes
are
periodical
and
predictable.
So
I
would
pause
where
I
thought
SRK
would
pause,
so
Deepika
would
know
when
to
deliver
her
dialogue,
when
to
pause
and
even
when
to
break
into
a
smile.
Deepika
would
come
back
extremely
excited
from
her
shoots
and
tell
me
how
SRK
paused
and
spoke
exactly
the
way
I'd
rehearsed
with
her.
Basically,
everything
was
perfected
to
the
dot"
recalls
the
acting
guru.
When
quizzed
what
according
to
him
are
Deepika's
strengths
as
an
actress,
he
left
no
stone
unturned
in
waxing
eloquent.
"Deepika
is
a
highly
intelligent
girl.
She
would
grasp
and
incorporate
whatever
I
would
teach
her
with
immediate
effect.
Her
dedication
to
her
work
is
hundred
percent.
Her
attitude
and
approach
is
extremely
professional,
which
I
think
is
a
big
plus.
She
has
great
grasping
power
and
memory
too.
Even
though
her
diction
was
slightly
problematic
at
the
beginning,
she
countered
it
beautifully.
The
results
are
for
all
to
see"
says
Vinod
about
his
pretty
student.
Seems
like
Deepika
is
another
perfectionist
in
the
making.
Aamir
Khan
listening?
Story first published: Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 12:36 [IST]