I am a storyteller

Cocktail comes six years after his debut film,Being Cyrus 2006,a psychological drama that was considered ahead of its time and got him critical acclaim. But Adajania chose his Bohemian lifestyle over filmmaking when his next project failed to take off.

This love for lotus-eating,he says,came early in life. A trained scuba-diving instructor,Adajania spent the early years of his career assisting ad filmmaker Mahesh Mathai,travelling on shoestring budgets to Vietnam and France,surviving on odd jobs sometimes,and,at other times,sipping pastis while reading Roald Dahl books about big green giants. If all else failed,I knew I could con my way through, he says.

The story of Being Cyrus may have come from his friend Kersi Khambatta,but the screenplay,characters and treatment were rooted in the stories he collected while travelling,the people he met and observed. In life,its important to have a treasury of memories,that gets richer through your recollections. It is worth throwing in a little story,bullshing yourself if need be to make those memories fun,because those are all you have left, he says.

After Being Cyrus,however,making more movies didnt strike him as the obvious thing to do. Instead,he spent the following five years travelling,indulging in adventure sports and spending time with his son,who was born during this period. Zreh grew up thinking I am his mother and started telling his friends that his mom goes to office and dad does yoga, says the director who is married to stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania.

He also wrote incessantly short stories,film scripts,ramblings and worked on them over and over again. A book that he penned,about five people trapped in an asylum,he says,still needs to be rewritten. It should read better. Books are a stronger medium of telling stories,more than movies. It leaves the visual dimension open for readers to make their own little movies in their head.

Understandably then,Adajanias days were full even without movies; he does not even consider himself a filmmaker. I am a storyteller, he says,a characteristic he picked up from his father. An officer on a short service commission with the Indian army during the Pakistan war,late Captain Aspi Adajania would spend much of his time travelling,especially after he became the president of the Indian Amateur Boxing Association. Dad belonged to the Gorkha regiment because there was no Parsi regiment. Upon return,he would talk of his adventures,about the challenge of taking out the beating heart of a snake in South Korea and other such tales, recounts Adajania. 8220;We could never tell whether he was telling the truth or making it all up.

Given his approach to life,Adajanias decision to come on board as director of Cocktail,an urban romance,whose script has been co-written by Imtiaz Ali and his brother Sajid,seems rather uncharacteristic. When I first heard the story,I wondered why Dinu Dinesh Vijan 8211; partner,Illuminati Films wanted me to direct the movie it was not dark or morbid and looked like a safe project. I told Dinu that bringing me on will probably make it edgy,unsafe and he said that is precisely why he wanted me. Adajania wasnt entirely convinced,but since he felt rather inadequate about going about a love story,he took it up. He says he has worked hard to make the film his own. The characters are layered,scenes have been reinterpreted and narratives altered,I have spun the story around, he says. While he is happy with how the film has panned out,Khan would rather see it spinning money at the box-office after the failure of his last release Agent Vinod. Saif sent me a message recently: Now my entire career is hanging on the hopes of a non-Hindi speaking Irani from south Mumbai. God save me.8217; I found it rather funny, Adajania says.

Her recently released film Cocktail,shows her looking more sexy,confident and glamorous than ever before. The symbolism could not be more revealing. Deepika Padukone is riding a wave. In Cocktail,she plays a carefree girl who lives and loves on her own terms. Next up,she has Kochadaiyaan,a film opposite superstar Rajinikanth,which she bagged over other prominent Bollywood actresses. Come January she will be lighting up the screen with her ex-flame Ranbir Kapoor and then teaming up for the fourth time with Saif Ali Khan in Race 2. If rumour mills are to be believed,she has also bagged a Dharma Productions film opposite Emraan Hashmi as well as Rohit Shettys Chennai Express opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

In five years,Padukone has convinced filmmakers to cast her in a variety of roles. She is said to be paid around Rs 1.5 to 2 crore per film,a notch below top bracket stars like Priyanka Chopra,Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. She is the face of major brands,and her striking looks teamed with her sense of style have given her a foothold in a whimsical industry. Not surprisingly,she has a new air of confidence; I am happy to be submerged in work. It hasnt been easy getting here,but my hard work has paid off and I am achieving what I have always dreamt of, she says.

Padukone says she chose the role of flashy Veronica in Cocktail when she was offered a choice between two characters. Most people think of me as poised and demure in real life. But Veronica is quite like me carefree,fun,tomboyish the way I am with people close to me. She wears her heart on her sleeve,but at the same time is responsible,caring and focused. Shes just very comfortable in her skin. When I signed the film,Imtiaz Ali,screenplay,writer told me that I will not really have to work on the character,because Veronica is already within me, she says.

Cocktail marks an interesting juncture in Padukone8217;s career. Box office results have been mixed Farah Khans Om Shanti Om,Sidharth Anands Bachna Ae Haseeno,Imtiaz Alis Love Aaj Kal and Sajid Khans Housefull have been among the few hits in her filmography of 15-odd films. A spate of controversies over her romances and their fallouts have made more news in recent times. But at 26,Padukone is at an enviable position with big projects in her kitty,and an anxious one where the success or failure of her next few projects will decide her worth in the industry. She is good friends with Karan Johar but has stayed away from any Bollywood clan.

Padukone came as a whiff of fresh air in the industry,and had the courage to speak about her love,her relationships and even her famous RK tattoo. She was happy being photographed with her then boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor and spoke candidly about him until news of her break up hit headlines. She has admitted having gone through the hurting phase,but the constant media speculation about her personal life changed her. There was a time when I was open about my relationships. I thought people would give us our privacy. But then they wanted to know more when I was getting married,when I was having kids,if the families were okay with our relationship,it all went overboard. My life became all about my relationships and the focus from my work completely shifted. So now,I have decided to shut that side off completely. She understands that the constant speculations will continue but she has come to terms with it. Small wonder then that when you ask her about Mallya scion,Siddhartha you get silence for an answer. I will not speak about my personal life, she says.

Her family,who kept her away from the limelight when she was young,also fell prey to the intrusive media. It was tough adjusting to the ways of the media. While good things were written about me,there were also not-so-good things,which my family and me found hard to accept. My parents used to feel hurt. However,now they have come to terms with it. Most importantly,they trust me.

That could also be because of the way they raised her. Dad Padukone was a celebrity sportsman but the family stayed grounded. Padukone did not grow up on a diet of Bollywood films nor did she idolise any star. On rare occasions,they watched a film at the theatre. Yet,she was sure of being an actress one day. I dont know what lured me. But every time I watched a movie on screen,I knew that this is what I want to do. I wanted to wear a chiffon sari and dance. I wanted to do all those things that a heroine did. At a subconscious level,I had made up my mind, says Padukone.

Although Padukone may have decided to steer clear of controversies,her teaming up with Ranbir Kapoor yet again for Ayan Mukerjis Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani,has set tongues wagging and many speculate that the two may have rekindled their love affair. Padukones shower of praise on Rockstar and her wish to be cast in the film further strengthened rumours that she may be hinting at getting back with Kapoor. Padukone,however,puts the record straight when she says that she is here to work with everyone. I have always maintained that I want to work with Ranbir and I believe that he is one of the best actors we have today. Bachna Ae Haseeno was a teaser,we needed to do a full-fledged film together and this is the perfect opportunity. Kapoor,in an earlier interview,had said about working with Padukone; We work well in tandem. Deepika is a lovely girl,extremely hard-working and very sincere. We have a lot of fun on the sets.

Her willingness to take risks dates back to her days as a state-level badminton player. However,her good looks,great body and background meant that while she was busy preparing for tournaments,she was also inundated with modelling offers. Ace photographer,Prasad Bidapa,who first spotted her talent,says,I was good friends with Prakash,and I often met him at the Century Club in Bangalore. I used to often see Deepika practise there and I knew she was meant for bigger things.

Padukone took to modelling when she was 16,in Bangalore,her home town,and later moved to Mumbai,where she also did commercials such as Liril,Limca and Close-Up. Recently,Padukone is rumoured to have signed a Rs 5 crore deal with Fiama Di Wills,the highest ever by a Bollywood actress and is also the brand ambassador of Tissot,Parachute,Sony and Nescafe.

However,when it came to acting,Padukone had to learn from scratch. I did not know the workings of the industry nor did I have any kind of contacts. While most people believe that her debut film,Om Shanti Om 2007,was served on a platter,Bidapa recalls,If I am not mistaken,Farah Khan,after offering her the film,took almost a year to get it rolling. Deepikas move to Bollywood has also been a calculated one. She was very particular about the film she debuted in and she did not mind waiting it out.

But the film boosted Padukones confidence. Farah did not audition me for the film. Her faith and trust in me as an actor made me very confident, she says. Farah Khan says of her,She came into the industry on a high,but the subsequent few films let her down. But then she worked on herself and did not give up. I was amazed to see her in the Cocktail promo. I was amazed that she could do a light hearted romcom,speak so well and develop that carefree body language,which were all her sore points when she started out.

Despite being touted as the next big star in Bollywood,her consequent releases didnt quite add up to the hype. Her second film Bachna Ae Haseeno saw her in a miniscule role,followed by the box-office dud Chandni Chowk to China. Her acting prowess was doubted,and her diction was frowned upon. Voice and diction trainer Vinod Tharani remembers when Padukone first came in. She had a shrill voice and a very heavy south Indian accent. But she was willing to slog it out,and eventually it paid off.

Her true test of skill came in the 2009 hit Love Aaj Kal. She followed this up with some noteworthy performances in Lafangey Parindey,Break Ke Baad and Housefull. I have worked on myself at every level. Be it looking good,my dialogue delivery or emoting in front of the camera,I have worked on every single aspect and continue to do so, she says.

According to Prakash Jha,who directed her in Aarakshan,her ability to study her characters and give them her 100 per cent is her biggest strength. The way she prepared for her role,I knew she wasnt taking her stardom for granted, says Jha. While Aarakshan and Ashutosh Gowarikers Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey gave Padukone a chance to step away from glamorous roles,the industry and audience are yet to look beyond the glamour. Danish Aslam,who directed her in Break Ke Baad,feels this could be because of her beauty. She is exceptionally beautiful and in the initial years,most filmmakers were enamoured by her beauty. But Deepika has made sure that she picked substantial roles that have helped her succeed in the industry.

Manoj Desai,film exhibitor and owner of G7 multiplex in Mumbai,feels she needs a strong role like in Love Aaj Kal. Today she has her finger on the pulse of the audience. But she needs that one elusive hit,to become an actor of reckoning, he says. She has,literally,a cocktail of big banner movies in her immediate future to fulfil that potential.