In an exclusive interview to Porter by DP : here are some excerpts:
If the intention was to grab attention beyond India, where as the country’s highest-paid actress she has no trouble getting attention, it succeeded. “It’s not so much about having an impact in the West,” she corrects, “as it is about pushing the boundaries for myself. I am that girl who loves fashion and loves dressing up.” Besides, the idea of an actor wanting to graduate from Bollywood to Hollywood? “I feel that’s a bit dated,” she says. “Today, the world is much more than that. If anything, I think today the West is looking east.
I ask what she thinks Bollywood is doing right and could teach the West? “To cast in a more diverse manner,” she says after a long pause. “While the conversation about diversity seems to happen in Hollywood now, I feel there is still a long way to go before they truly understand it.” Does that mean she is still only being offered ‘the Indian’ roles (parts defined entirely by their ethnicity)? “Yes. Or the exotic. The exotic assistant to the detective,” she rolls her eyes. Now when she takes meetings in LA, it’s with a particular intention in mind. “I am going to meetings to let people know not just about me, but that there is a whole big world out there beyond America,” she says. “And they need to see that.”
The biggest fashion risk that Deepika Padukone ever took? No question. “The neon green Giambattista Valli gown with a bandana on my head,” she says decisively which She wore to Cannes earlier this year. “My stylist was doubtful,” she admits. “She was like, I love the gown, but I’m not sure you want the headband.” The headband was optional? “Not for me. It was optional for my stylist. But I was like, we’re doing this. One hundred percent. There was no doubt in my mind.
If the West is looking east, it’s increasingly in the direction of Deepika Padukone (pronounced Dee-pick-ah Pad-oo-coon), the 33-year-old actress who is shifting goalposts in Bollywood. In that regard, the past 12 months have been dizzying. Not only was she named one of Times 100 Most Influential People of 2018, she became the first woman ever to make the top five of Forbes’ India Celebrity 100 in December (thanks to her latest hit, Padmaavat, a historical epic that grossed $90m at the global box office), and in April landed the cover of American Vogue’s ‘Global Talent’ issue, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Doona Bae. “Deepika is the best Earth has to offer,” declared her 2017 XxX: Return of Xander Cage co-star Vin Diesel with typical swagger.
Its a long interview read at
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