Journalism of Courage
The reigning queen of Bollywood Deepika Padukone, who celebrates her 29th birthday today, is not only tasting success, but literally basking in its glory and rightly so! We take a look at some of her defining moments in Bollywood. The actress has been on a roll in the past few years, with almost each and every release making its way to the much-coveted Rs 100 crore club.
Om Shanti Om: Deepika Padukone first made her way into this glitzy town with Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om' opposite none other than Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan. Not only did Deepika’s performance make fans and critics stand up and take notice of this new face, but the film was a huge commercial success.
Bachna Ae Haseeno: Deepika shared screen space with Ranbir Kapoor in Siddharth Anand’s romantic comedy. Set in Australia, Deepika was seen as the gutsy student who is also a cab driver in the city. Though the film opened to mixed opinions, it was declared a hit and performed well at the box office.
Cocktail: It was Homi Adajania's 'Cocktail' that proved to be a turning point in her career. Her portrayal of the bold and beautiful Veronica, earned Deepika immense praise and several award nominations. The dimpled beauty showed us that she could be more than just Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes. ‘Cocktail’ was declared a Box office hit, both in India and abroad.
Love Aaj Kal: Deepika’s pairing with Saif Ali Khan in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Love Aaj Kal’ was a big hit. She played Meera Pandit, a headstrong career woman in the love story, that revolved around the changing value of relationships among youngsters. The film went on to become the third-highest grossing film of the year.
Race 2: In 2013, Deepika Padukone appeared in multi-starrer ‘Race 2’ alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Ameesha Patel and Jacqueline Fernandez. Though the critics weren’t very kind to it, the Bollwyood thriller was the first film to enter the Rs 100 crore club that year.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani: The actress then romanced former boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor in Ayan Mukerji's 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' that saw stupendous success. Though the duo had a somewhat messy parting, their chemistry had their fans intrigued and wanting more of the ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ couple. The film also made it to the Rs 100 crore club in just six days of its release.
Chennai Express: Deepika reunited with 'Om Shanti Om' co-star Shah Rukh Khan for yet another blockbuster, Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’. She played Meenalochini Azhagusundaram and absolutely nailed the typical Tamil accent. 'Chennai Express' went on to be the second-highest grossing Bollywood film worldwide.
Ram-Leela: Fresh on the heels of success of 'Chennai Express', Deepika scorched screens with her performance of Leela in Sanjay Bhansali’s ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ opposite rumoured lover, Ranveer Singh. The duo enthralled and seduced their audience in the Indian adaptation of Shakespearean play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. ‘Ram-Leela’ was declared a massive commercial hit and is one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2013.
Happy New Year: Deepika Padukone once again joined forces with Shah Rukh Khan for a third time in Farah Khan’s multi-starrer 'Happy New Year'. The heist-cum-dance flick, that also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah became the fastest Hindi film to reach the Rs 100 crore mark and grossed Rs 108.86 cr, with a break-up of Rs. 104.10 cr in Hindi, Rs. 2.92 cr in Telugu and Rs. 1.84 cr in Tamil.
Finding Fanny: Determined to prove that she is not all about the blockbusters, Deepika signed Homi Adajania’s off-beat film, ‘Finding Fanny’, where she played the role of a young widow who takes a road trip with a strange set of people. The film received immense critical acclaim and was screened at 19th Busan International Film Festival.
