Deepika Padukone's seven years in Bollywood has come a full circle. She began her celluloid career with a film directed by Farah Khan and co-starring Shah Rukh Khan, and she celebrates seven big screen years with another film directed by Farah Khan and co-starring Shah Rukh Khan. Here's a look at her journey through the years.
Deepika, a model from Bangalore and daughter of badminton legend Prakash Padukone, got her big Bollywood break opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan, a dream debut for many, in Farah Khan's 2007 release Om Shanti Om.
The actress was singled out for praise for her performance as Shantipriya/Sandhya (Sandy) in the movie and also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
In 2008, she played a girl-next-door in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno opposite Ranbir Kapoor.
The following year, she was seen with SRK once again, but in a special appearance in the song Love Mera Hit Hit from Billu. Deepika sizzled onscreen, raising the glamour quotient exponentially.
Deepika proved her mettle as an actress in Love Aaj Kal opposite Saif Ali Khan in 2009, for which she was also nominated in the Filmfare Award for Best Actress category.
The next few years saw something of a career slump for Bollywood's golden girl, even though she co-starred with actors like Amitabh Bachchan in Aarakshan, Farhan Akhtar in Karthik Calling Karthik and Akshay Kumar in Housefull.
In a resurgence of sorts, Deepika won both critical acclaim and commercial success for playing Veronica Malaney in 2012 movie Cocktail.
Deepika ruled Bollywood in 2013, delivering four Rs 100-crore films - Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express, and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. She also cleaned up at awards season, where she was often her own competition in the Best Actress category.
She played a sassy girl in Race 2. She also won hearts with her role of Naina Talwar, a nerd who falls in love with her chaming classmate from school, in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The movie became the sixth highest grossing Bollywood film of all time in India and worldwide.
She also delivered blockbuster hits Chennai Express opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela opposite Ranveer Singh.
This year, Deepika proved her versatility as an actress, playing Goan beauty Angie in black comedy Finding Fanny. She scorched the screen as Mohini Joshi in her recent release Happy New Year, directed by Farah Khan.
Deepika is currently shooting for Piku with Amitabh Bachchan.
We wish her many more successful films and many more years in Bollywood.
