Deepika Padukone, from the lens of dad Prakash Padukone, husband Ranveer Singh and mother Ujjala

Deepika shares a very close bond with her father, badminton champion Prakash Padukone. Once, when Deepika was asked if she is her dad’s little angel or his strongest support, she shared with The Times of India, “I think it’s a little bit of both. I would say that we have a complete relationship. Well in certain situations I am a little girl, but sometimes I stand up to the occasion and support my dad, be it emotionally or otherwise.”

The actor added, “Dad and I quite often joke with each other, we pull each others’ leg. Dad would sometimes reprimand me, and at times he would be forced to lock me up in the store room, because I would misbehave that much. From father to friend, we share many relationships. That’s why I believe I have a wholesome relationship with my dad.”

Deepika also shared that even if she is doing well in her career, she consults her parents when it comes to important life decisions. “My parents’ approval matters a lot. In that sense for me, in every aspect of my life, their approval or disapproval matters and keeping them in a loop is very important. I know I have their blessings. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have my parents as a support system. If I had to constantly worry about what my parents are thinking or if they’re okay or upset with my career choices, I don’t think I would have had the same journey. I am not saying it would have altered the way things turned out for me, but I do believe that my parents’ support and encouragement has had a huge influence in my life. I like to keep them informed about everything I do. They never really interfere in my work or my other professional pursuits. In fact, throughout my career, they have hardly been seen around me. They trust the people I work with, they gave me the freedom to go to another city to live. They trust that I would make the right choices at the right time. And of course, as parents, they have been there through every step of the way.

It was in the year 2015 Deepika Padukone opened up about battling depression, following which she founded the NGO, Live Love Laugh Foundation, to help those with mental illness. While Deepika’s fight with depression made her feel “empty” and “directionless” Deepika has shared on multiple outings that her mother who was the first to recognize that her daughter needed professional help and connected her with a family friend and counselor, who helped the actor with clinical depression.

Deepika struggled and suffered for many months because she didn’t know anyone who had been through this.

In an old interview, Deepika Padukone’s sister Anisha, who is a professional golfer, too opened up about how she dealt with the situation when Deepika was diagnosed with depression. “Honestly, it was difficult for me as I had very little idea about mental illness and the role of a caregiver. Coping with mental illness affects both the individuals and members of their immediate family,” said Anisha in an interview with News18.

Deepika Padukone shared a perfect bond with her sister Anisha. In an old interview with Vogue, Deepika shared some secrets about her childhood and her equation with her sister, Anisha Padukone.

“My sister Anisha and I shared a room. We used to sit on that sofa you see in the picture and play ‘house’ for hours. We also had several posters of Leonardo DiCaprio on the wall and made it a point to kiss him goodnight every night before going to sleep.”

Deepika has often called husband Ranveer her biggest cheerleader. Talking to Esquire Magazine, Ranveer had said about Deepika, “She and I just bought our first house together, so we’re building our home! I moved into her place after the wedding, so it’s been about four years now. But this is our first home together. Because she’s so busy with everything she does and I’m also busy, and she’s very homely. She’s very gharelu [the Hindi word for homebody]. We don’t go out much and we love spending time with each other at home. So, this home that we’ve gotten is a couple of hours outside the city; it’s quiet, it’s secluded and it really is the perfect place for us to spend our quality time.”