Happy birthday Deepika Padukone: Here are 7 iconic movies from the Bollywood star

Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone turned 36 on January 5 and released posters of her upcoming movie ‘Gehraiyaan’ on the occasion.

The star was born in Denmark to the famous badminton player Prakash Padukone and raised in Bengaluru. Over the years, the actress has built a solid reputation as a graceful and humble actress who is dedicated towards her work. Padukone is also one of the most highly paid actresses in the Hindi film industry, establishing herself as one of India’s most bankable stars. | Newly-married Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone greet their fans from the balcony of their residence, in Bengaluru on November 20, 2018. Also seen are Padukone’s parents Prakash and Ujjala Padukone.

She even make her way to the international platform with a role in Hollywood action film ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’.

In 2018, Padukone formed her own company, Ka Productions. Her first production venture came with ‘Chhapaak’ (2020), a drama by Meghna Gulzar, in which Padukone starred as an acid attack survivor (based on real-life survivor Laxmi Agarwal). As the actress turns a year older, here’s a look at some of the diverse roles that Padukone has played.

1. ‘Om Shanti Om’: Who can forget the gorgeous dimpled millennial star Shanti Priya, clad in the pink coloured saree, waving at her fans? This 2007 movie marked the debut of Padukone in Hindi cinema. The movie written and directed by Farah Khan and co-written by Mayur Puri and Mushtaq Shiekh revolves around the love story of Om (Shah Rukh Khan), a junior artist in 1977 who has a crush on a secretly-married superstar, Shanti Priya (Padukone). Her lover, a producer played by Arjun Rampal, kills her in a fire; Om witnesses this and dies from injuries sustained trying to rescue her. Reincarnated as a superstar in 2007, he seeks to avenge his love. ‘Om Shanti Om’ won several awards including the National Film Award for Best Production Design.

2. ‘Love Aaj Kal’: The 2009 movie will surely leave you teary-eyed every time you watch it. The Imtiaz Ali directorial stars Padukone and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. In a technology-driven world where love is on speed-dial, two lovers find themselves overcoming distances, failures and heartbreaks to find each other again and preserve the love they had abandoned. It was remade into Telugu as ‘Teen Maar’ (2011). Its successor of the same name, also directed by Ali, was released in 2020 starring Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan in the lead roles.

3. ‘Chennai Express’: The 2013 romantic-comedy directed by Rohit Shetty proved to be a career-changing movie for Padukone. The film sees her play a South Indian woman Meena who runs away from home to avoid a forced marriage. ‘Chennai Express’ also stars Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul Mithaiwala, a man who accidentally boards the eponymous train and journeys from Mumbai to Rameswaram with Meena. When he helps Meena, the daughter of a don, he has to face the ire of her criminal family. The film broke several box office records in India and abroad. It surpassed ‘3 Idiots’ (2009) to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide at that point. It is among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time worldwide.

4. ‘Ram Leela’: The 2013 film directed by ace filmmaker Sanja Leela Bhansali is a tragic romance film with a loose adaptation of the 1961 film ‘West Side Story’. It stars Padukone and her now husband Ranveer Singh in the lead roles. The storyline revolves around the love story of Ram (Singh) and Leela (Padukone), who love each other but cannot stay together as their families have been at war with each other for the past 500 years. In the end, they both die and make sacrifices for their love. The film was a blockbuster and also was the set where reel-to-real love between Padukone and Singh emerged. The duo dated for more than four years and tied the knot in 2018.

5. ‘Bajirao Mastani’: The 2015 Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie is an epic historical romance starring Singh, Padukone and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles. Based on the Marathi fictional novel ‘Rau’ by Nagnath S Inamdar, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ narrates the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I (1700-1740 AD) (played by Singh), who is married to Kashibai (Chopra). However, he falls in love with Mastani (Padukone), a warrior princess in distress. ‘Bajirao Mastani’ has also been noted for its scale, grandeur and attention to detail. It is one of the most expensive Hindi films made, a major commercial success and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.

6. ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’: The 2013 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ayan Mukherjee stars Padukone as Naina and Ranbir Kapoor as Kabir in the lead roles. Kabir and Naina meet during a trekking trip where she falls in love with him but refrains from expressing it. They soon drift apart but end up meeting at a friend’s wedding. Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur play supporting roles in the movie that is very popular amongst the youth. Since its release in 2013, the film has gone on to achieve cult status.

7. ‘Piku’: Shoojit Sircar’s 2015 comedy-drama film stars Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and the late Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. A road trip to Kolkata brings Piku, an architect, closer to her ageing but nagging father Bhaskor Banerjee (Bachchan) despite their disparate ideologies and fights over trivial issues. The film was nominated for Best Film in the 61st Filmfare Awards, as well as other categories. Padukone won her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and Bachchan received his record-setting fourth National Film Award for Best Actor at the 63rd National Film Awards and his record-setting third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his performance.

The superstar’s other movies such as ‘Padmaavat’ (pictured), ‘Chhapak’, ‘Cocktail’ and ‘Tamasha’ among several others have already set a special place in the hearts of her fans.

Meanwhile, the actress, who was last seen in the sports drama ‘83’, has a number of highly-anticipated movies in the pipeline such as ‘Fighter’ with Hrithik Roshan (pictured), ‘Pathan’ with Shah Rukh Khan, ‘Project K’ with Amitabh Bachchan and Prabhas, and ‘Gehraiyaan’ starring Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa.