Deepika for Vogue

please no bashing and stay on topic

https://t.co/VuMOSwQQWx

https://twitter.com/VOGUEIndia/status/1523543083308048384?s=20&t=B7-8JN5cfekNh_BKLMHmRw

Pasting vogue interview for convenience URL is at the end of the post

(Conversation between Deepika Padukone and Faye D'Souza edited and excerpted by Sadaf Shaikh)

Faye D’Souza: You were recently conferred with the TIME100 Impact Award, a recognition of leaders who have made extraordinary efforts to shape the future of their industries. This wasn’t your first time—in 2018, you were also the only Indian woman on TIME’s list of ‘100 Most Influential People’. How different was the significance of the award this time around?

Deepika Padukone: In 2018, the award was more specifically to recognise the work I’d done in the mental health space, whereas this time, it was to honour the work I’ve done so far, my contribution to the Indian film industry and the choices I’ve made as an actor. It just felt a lot more wholesome because mental health is a huge aspect of my life, but it’s not the only aspect of my life. All the ups and downs I’ve been through in my career—the learnings, the mistakes, the successes—the award felt like a culmination of it. All those memories of asking myself questions at the age of 18, like, “How am I going to break into this industry? What is the journey going to be like? Who are the people I’m going to meet on this journey? Will I be successful? Will I enjoy my craft?” just came full circle when the award was placed in my hands.

FD: It is said that women have to work twice as hard to get half as far. I have seen many women in their mid-thirties derive a sense of personal accomplishment from their triumphs because they had to strive so persistently to get to where they are. Is that what makes your successes all the more special?

DP: I do see the obvious disparity between men and women in almost any aspect of life, but never in my journey have I felt the need to compare. And I think it’s to do with the fact that my sister and I weren’t brought up like that. We weren’t constantly reminded of the fact that we were girls, and so we had to go into the world thinking differently and fighting for what we deserved. But I did have to tackle other challenges. Coming from a sports background meant I did not have a natural inroad into Bollywood. My South Indian accent was also frowned upon and I initially worried about being written off because of it.

Dress, Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

Collar, shirt, lounge-wear pants; all Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

FD: As seen with Gehraiyaan (2022), you seem to be consciously gravitating towards strong female characters that are written with depth. But there was a time not so long ago when major projects were made keeping A-list male actors in mind. As one of the country’s biggest stars and a successful producer, do you now insist on having well-rounded female characters in the films you act in and choose to back?

DP: I’m having the opposite problem today, where I have to insist on filmmakers not keeping me in mind for just a certain kind of role. They are doing their own filtration and sieving process before approaching me. A lot of the time, I hear of a film going to someone else and wonder why it wasn’t me, and the filmmaker will just tell me that they thought I wouldn’t do it because it didn’t have a big enough part for someone like me. Of course, it could also just be an excuse for why they didn’t want me in the first place. But to answer your question: no, I don’t think I’ve had that issue in a while. People assume that I’m only going to do certain kinds of films and roles, so I only get offered those.

FD: You entered an industry that so fiercely nurtures and champions its own, as a South Indian model, and turned into one of its most successful actors. A lot of the credit for the kind of films that mainstream Hindi cinema is now making, where they’re taking women more seriously, writing better characters, and showing more sensitive portrayals of mental health, can be attributed to you. How do you feel about having moved the needle so significantly?

DP: If any praise for that change, no matter how big or small, comes my way, I will take it. It’s definitely a lot to digest, but at the same time, I won’t say it’s untrue because my purpose has always been that. As an outsider to the industry, I inadvertently ended up becoming an observer, which I believe has enabled me to change the status quo. Earlier, I probably didn’t have the confidence or the clout to be able to effect change, but the desire for it was always there. Even as a child, I was always curious about why things were done a certain way. I would never take anything lying down or be satisfied with things being handed to me on a platter.

Shirt, blazer; both Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

FD: We’ve come such a long way from how mental health used to be portrayed on-screen. Today, characters are being written with more research and a better understanding of the various mental illnesses people suffer from. How much further do you think we need to go in terms of a more thorough portrayal of mental health in Indian cinema? And how will we get there?

DP: With understanding and empathy. If an actor were portraying a character with a physical ailment, for example, they would do their research and due diligence in order to discern exactly how to depict their condition. The same courtesy needs to be extended to mental illnesses. Actors, writers and directors shouldn’t be winging it. We should afford the same honesty and authenticity to characters with mental illnesses as we do to biopics. Cinema is such a powerful medium of understanding. If mental health is depicted in the right way, it can have far-reaching consequences for a country like India, where the conversation around mental health has only just begun. Similarly, one wrong depiction could set us back by years.

MOST POPULAR

Something I personally hope to do in the next few years is to have a therapist present on film sets. We have a doctor on set, so I don’t see why we can’t have a mental health professional too. During Chhapaak (2020), I brought on a therapist for myself because there were days where I would have a panic attack or feel claustrophobic—it wasn’t easy carrying the emotion that came from playing Malti for so many months. To have a therapist hold my hand through that was important to me. In fact, I had a similar process for Gehraiyaan as well. I have already started doing this at an individual level, but as a producer, I would like to make therapy available to the whole crew.

Shirt, ‘Dauphine’ bag; both Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

FD: The lockdown also put the brakes on a lot of things for the world, giving people the time and opportunity to reflect on who they are versus who they want to be, where their careers are headed and the kind of impact they want to have on others. What was the lockdown like for you and where have your learnings taken you?

DP: I think people experienced the lockdown with varying levels of difficulty. Needless to say, this doesn’t include those who contracted a virulent Covid strain or lost their livelihood or people dear to them—I can’t even begin to fathom their anguish. Everyone, however, has come out of the pandemic having learned something. I think my journey of self-discovery actually happened in 2014, when I experienced depression: pondering the meaning of life and its purpose happened for me much earlier. Navigating this pandemic from that perspective was easier because I already had control over my mind and body. And although parts of it were very hard, there were great days as well. Ranveer and I were newly married and we got to spend a lot of quality time with each other. We were also able to connect with our families for long periods of time, which we don’t otherwise get to do because of shoot schedules and travelling. I think most people have come out of it nicer. There’s value for health, value for the air we breathe, value for the people around us.

Tank top, dress; both Louis Vuitton.

Tank top, waistcoat, shirt; all Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

FD: Let’s talk about your international career. You made your Hollywood debut with xXx: Return of Xander Cage in 2017 and, in August 2021, announced that your next project would be a sweeping cross-cultural story. What kind of stories are you hoping to tell a global audience that will put diversity front and centre?

DP: Right now, the conversation around diversity in Hollywood is surface-level.The minute you have a Black or Asian actor, it’s considered ‘diverse casting’. But we have a long way to go before we start seeing substantial change. I feel like 80 per cent of the people in charge are still looking at inclusive casting as a box to be ticked. No doubt, there are some who are genuinely interested in turning the tide, but they are getting it quite wrong. It’s a learning process and I hope it’s an earnest one

DP: When you’re 18 and have just started earning, you don’t even bother looking into a Louis Vuitton store when you walk past it because you know you’re never going to be able to afford it. There are some things that are aspirational and then there are some things that are just completely out of your orbit. My association with Louis Vuitton is the latter. I’m a very practical, pragmatic person in reality, but I keep having to pinch myself because I can’t believe this is real. And it speaks to the kind of diversity I hope to see in the future. Having grown up in India, we’re so conditioned to seeing Westerners scale certain heights, and now that this is my reality, it’s just ineffable. Having said that, I am extremely grateful to Louis Vuitton for the honour and think creative director Nicolas Ghesquière is so elegant in everything that he does. Our tastes complement each other and our synergies are on point.

FD: Between your association with Louis Vuitton, descending on the red carpet in experimental high fashion and being papped in oversized tees and sweats, what is your personal style actually like?

DP: All of it is me. I am the person who will wear a classic black dress, I am the person who will wear a neon green or fuchsia gown that can fit ten people in it and I am the person who will wear a graceful sari. They are all my personalities. On a daily basis, like everyone else, I am most comfortable in pyjamas. I am also completely at ease in a sari. But at the same time, I love my gowns and heels. Even when it comes to colour, I know I’ve always come across as being partial to neutrals, but I love that pop of green or pink. And for those wondering, it has nothing to with Ranveer coming into my life. It’s a part of my personality that has always been there.

Jacket, Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

Shirt, blazer; both Louis Vuitton.

 Vivek Vadoliya

FD: Let’s wrap up on a light note. Your Instagram feed is quite breezy—very different from the meticulous, student-like seriousness you bring to set. Would you say there are two sides to you?

DP: Nobody is just one person; that would be so boring. I wouldn’t say I’m a serious person, but I am extremely disciplined. It’s the athlete in me. People think of me as this poised and elegant woman with swan-like grace and legs for days. And while that is definitely a part of who I am, it is but one side of me. The other side, which people are seeing on Instagram these days, is how I am around Ranveer, my sister and my friends. I have a bad sense of humour. I am goofy. I like to have fun. They’re all me and I am all them.

Dress, Louis Vuitton.

Photographed by: Vivek Vadoliya. Styled by: Megha Kapoor

Hair: Noelia Corral/Kasteel Management for Oribe Hair Care. Makeup: Tina Monzón/Kasteel Management for Guerlain. Photographer’s agency: East London. Assistant stylists: Gisela Castells, Rupangi Grover. Photographer’s assistants: Ryan Rivers, Gabriel Engelke. Digital operator: Tom Griffith. Visuals director: Roxanne Doucet. Global design director: Aurelie Pellissier Roman. Production: Anna Castro/Motif Management. Entertainment director: Megha Mehta

https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/deepika-padukone-bollywood-acting-achievements-vogue-india-cover-story-may-2022

you put her in a brown sack, she will look stunning

love deepika, wish she did more rom coms

She looks great but the outfits are terrible. They don't fall into the category of casual or trendy. Absurd. 😳

you said no bashing, so I'll just keep quiet...

Deepika makes the clothes, clothes don't make her!!!

Has she lost weight recently? Her face looks too thin and lifeless.

Originally posted by: DetachednNumb

She looks great but the outfits are terrible. They don't fall into the category of casual or trendy. Absurd. 😳

Deepika looks stunning! The clothes are not great but I love the 90s aesthetic. 

Her Mardana pose continues 😬