A new generation of actors have exploded like a comet in Bollywood - but will they last in India's most competitive profession? Deepika Padukone thinks so. The beauty spoke exclusively to the Observer's Bollywood columnist DEVANSH PATEL about combining love and work successfully
Q How different is it to be working with your off-screen boyfriend on screen?
A It doesn't really make much of a difference because when you're working and you're a part of the film, you are not really looking at whether he is your boyfriend or not because you're in your work space at that moment in time.
Q Your debut film took you to a lavish red carpet première in London. Where is Bachna Ae Haseeno going to take you?
A Well I don't know what Yash Raj has planned for this film but I'm sure it will go somewhere as far as the première is concerned and as for the film, it will go places too.
Q While Siddharth Anand's previous two films were big hits, Ranbir's Saawariya was a complete no-no. Will Bachna Ae Haseeno be Siddharth's hat-trick of hits and Ranbir's first big hit?
A Most definitely. That's what I believe. I think we all have worked really hard but more than us, Ranbir and Siddharth have worked that little extra to add in the best into the film. I hope and pray that they both get what they want from Bachna Ae Haseeno.
Q Tell us about your experience with Ranbir in different cities around the world where you've travelled for the film.
A I only got to work with him in Sydney and then for the song Khuda Jaane in Italy. So both were great experiences. In Sydney, we were there for almost 25 days. Italy was great fun too.
It was 10 days of shooting this lovely romantic song in these beautiful locations. I don't think I would have discovered this beautiful place had we not shot this song there and now since we have discovered it, it's a place I would like to go for a holiday or honeymoon.
The most exciting part of filming this song was that we would shoot every day and travel in the evening to another location set up in the next place and shoot again the whole day, I don't think anyone has ever travelled so much to shoot one song!
Q So is marriage on the cards for you?
A I'm not thinking of marriage as of now. Definitely not at the moment.
Q Khuda Jaane sung by Kay Kay is steadily topping the charts and we know that the song means a lot to you and Ranbir.
A The fact that both me and Ranbir are in love makes the song even more special and it made shooting the song a lot easier. It was a nice experience because it was the first time that we both were shooting for a romantic song together. I'm so glad that Vishal and Shekhar have managed to compile such a beautiful song for us with meaningful lyrics.
Q We seem to give a lot of credit to music directors and forget the choreographer and the cinematographer, who are responsible for making the song visually perfect.
A Most definitely. In fact the day the song released, people started calling us from around the world and sent us messages that the song is looking lovely and is a big hit in all the cities. Having said that, the three people I called up first after the news broke out were Ahmed Khan, the choreographer, Sunil Patel, the cinematographer and my director Siddharth Anand for giving us such a beautiful song.
Q Tell us a bit about your costumes. You're looking quite elegant, I should say.
A Yes because my character is a young girl, an NRI who lives in Sydney. She is very trendy and forward in terms of fashion but at the same time she is traditional in a way. So keeping all these aspects in mind the costumes were made and when you have a designer like Akki Narula on board, I don't think one really needs to worry about being styled in a certain way because I completely trust him. I've worked with him when I was a model and I'm really glad that I got to work with him in my second film.
Q As for female leads, only Aishwarya Rai at the moment is dominating in Bollywood, having come from a modelling background. A few more like Diya Mirza, Celina Jaitley and Sushmita Sen have made a mark. Will you be as lucky as they are?
A Hopefully. Aish is someone I definitely look up to.
She is someone I've really learned a lot from and I used to watch her endorsements, her films and her modelling career right from the time she started off when I was very young. I also remember watching her when she won Miss World. If my career goes the same way as Aishwarya's, it's going to be a huge compliment for me.
Q Yash Raj Films are going through their worst phase in film production. Will Bachna Ae Haseeno bring a smile back to the big banner?
A I think it's wrong to generalise. Everyone goes through a bad phase. I appreciate the fact that Yash Raj Films tried to do something different in terms of the kind of films that they made in the last year or two. Some films work and some films don't work but we all have worked really hard on Bachna Ae Haseeno and hope it does well for us and Yash Raj.
Q Have you shared screen space with Bipasha and Minissha in Bachna Ae Haseeno?
A No. We've shot for a promotional song together and you will see all of four of us together but apart from that I'm not really in charge of creatives.
I agreed to do the film because I liked the character and a bit of the script that was narrated to me. I wanted to be a part of this film and I did what I wanted to do.
Q The last time I saw your dad, Prakash Padukone, he was in London for your film's première. What kind of influence does he have on the films you do?
A A lot. I talk to my parents everyday and every move that I make, every endorsement that I do, every film that I do and my everyday activities are all discussed with them. My parents just don't prefer being in the limelight. They prefer being in the back seat and taking care of my career. My dad handles my finances.
I wouldn't have been here today had my parents not supported me the way they have.
Q Any memorable moments you spent in Sydney with Ranbir?
A We did a lot of sightseeing in Sydney but apart from that, we also enjoyed ourselves a lot in Italy where we shot Khuda Jaane.
When we were shooting for the song, there is this sequence where there are a lot of pigeons. There is a shot when I turn and the pigeons fly around me. Getting the scene right was very difficult - they had to put pigeon food on my hands and then these twenty five to thirty pigeons would come and sit on me and before the camera rolled, I could see all these pigeons crawling on my hand and by the end of it I'd have little scratches on my arm. So that was quite an experience as I am pretty frightened about these things.
Q Any message for the Observer readers?
A Well, all I'd like to say is be happy, believe in yourself and enjoy your work.
