Actor Deepika Padukone said that motherhood has been 'gratifying and beautiful' so far, and that it has pushed her out of her comfort zone 'in a good way'. In an interview, Deepika said that she is now a more tolerant person than she was before, and that becoming a mother has made her more social as well. Deepika and her husband, actor Ranveer Singh, welcomed daughter Dua Singh Padukone last year, and is now looking for playschools for her. In the same interview, to CNBC-TV18, she also spoke about taking care of her mental health using basic strategies, and being okay with 'ruffling feathers' by being 'honest and authentic'. Asked what she does with the 'money, power, and authority' that she has earned in her life, she said, "This deep need to be ridiculously honest and authentic, even if it means I make mistakes or I say things that people don't agree with, or walk a path that people have not. I'm basically okay with conflict. I'm okay with dealing with conflict. I'm okay with ruffling feathers. I'm okay with challenging the status quo. I've always been like that since I was a child. If I can see that something can be different or better, even if there are systems that are age old, I'm okay to ruffle those feathers. I'm okay being abused at. I can very easily cut out the noise." Opening up about motherhood, Deepika said, "I've always been a patient person, but my tolerance levels now are. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you a social person; I've never been a social person. Having to interact with other parents, and now playschool. Motherhood just pushes you out of your comfort zone, in a good way. I've always wanted to be a mother, and now I'm playing my best role." Also read - ‘Is Deepika Padukone dumb?’: Vivek Agnihotri says she was misled, ‘had no idea’ what she was getting into Deepika, who has been vocal about her mental health struggles in public for over a decade, revealed some steps that she takes to take care of herself. "Sleep is extremely important. I keep saying this in every interview, and I'm sure, to the listener, it sounds so boring, but it is the truth. It's about going back to the basics: quality sleep, hydration, nutrition, exercise. These things are important. They don't sound as fancy as cryotherapy or ice baths or red light therapy, but it's all about going back to the basics. And when we say food and nutrition, we're not talking about fancy meals, it's just basic Indian food. It doesn't have to be expensive," she said. Deepika said that taking care of her body came naturally to her, as she was an athlete before becoming an actor, but after she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, she just started being more diligent about her health. "I can spend hours away from my device. I'm not addicted to my device at all. I can't sit in one place, I still have to be 'productive'. I clean, but it's not compulsive. It's very cool to say you're OCD about something, but you have to realise that's a condition. But I feel like I'm clearing my mind, maybe it's my way of decluttering," she concluded. Deepika recently made headlines for walking away from big-ticket films such as Spirit, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, and the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas. On both occasions, it was reported that she had made demands that the producers weren't comfortable fulfilling, such as limited working hours and time to take care of Dua. She will next be seen in King, starring Shah Rukh Khan.
