Bollywood star Deepika Padukone hospitalised, here’s more about the Indian actor

Deepika Padukone, who was busy shooting in Mumbai, was hospitalised at Breach Candy Hospital on September 26. Reports claim she was rushed to the hospital after she complained of uneasiness. Her team is yet to put out a statement, but reports claim that she has undergone numerous tests and is awaiting the results of those screenings. In June, Padukone had reportedly complained of an increased heart rate while she was shooting for Project K in Hyderabad, alongside Prabhas. At the time, reports said she was admitted to Kamineni Hospital for a health check-up.

Padukone is one star who made it big in Bollywood with no ‘connections’ in the industry. A dream debut for an actress, her first movie ‘Om Shaanti Om’ starred Shah Rukh Khan, and the movie was a box office success. She went on to prove her mettle in movies such as ‘Gehraiyaan’ and ‘Piku’. Padukone is now one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry.

From badminton to Bollywood: Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 5, 1986 to iconic badminton champion Prakash Padukone and wife Ujjala Padukone. She was raised in Bengaluru and followed in her father’s footsteps for a while, playing badminton at state- and national-level championships. She began modelling before taking the plunge into movies.

Rise to the top: Padukone acted in a string of blockbusters including the Dubai-set ‘Happy New Year’, the stirring romance ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and the comedy ‘Chennai Express’ with A-listers like Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan.

Social media following: Deepika Padukone shines on social media, using the channel to advocate for issues close to her heart, entertain by engaging in viral challenges - basically just being herself. The strategy has worked so far, with her winning a following of 69.2 million.

Hollywood appearances and ‘Most Influential’: As Priyanka Chopra Jonas did, Padukone took a noteworthy stab at conquering Hollywood. She found a steady friend and cheerleader in her ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ co-star Vin Diesel. The action star wrote a stirring note about her when she was chosen to be on Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential List in 2018.

Beating mental health stigma: Deepika Padukone is one of the few celebrities who spoke up about her silent nemesis – depression – even when it seemed the stigma of the revelation would ruin her career. Fortunately, she found support and has gone on to not only work on several projects but also launch a mental health non-government organization in India called Live Love Laugh.

Marriage to Ranveer Singh: After five years of dating each other, fellow actor Ranveer Singh proposed to Deepika Padukone at the IIFA Awards. They hung up their designer boots and got hitched in an exclusive and lavish destination wedding in Italy in 2018. making them one of Bollywood’s top power couples. The couple acted together in blockbusters including ‘Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram Leela’ and ‘Padmaavat’.

Producing her own movies: Padukone’s first film, which she starred in, under her own banner ‘Ka Productions’ was ‘Chhapaak’ in 2020 – a stirring tale of an acid attack survivor. It wasn’t your usual Bollywood song-dance musical, but a movie that spoke about a social evil that continues to plague the world. Padukone starred in this Meghna Gulzar-directed film and took on a physically challenging role to mark her foray into production. Her next production was ‘83’, a sports film starring her real-life husband Ranveer Singh as cricketing icon Kapil Dev. The film chronicled India’s momentous victory at the 1983 World Cup and Padukone played his on-screen wife Romi Dev.

More than one passion: Padukone is the chairperson of the prestigious Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) film festival and is also the founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, an NGO that aims to remove the stigma around mental health. Padukone owns her own clothing brand and regularly conducts fund-raisers by auctioning off her clothes.

Global brand ambassador: Her red carpet turn in billowing gowns at the Cannes Film Festival as the face of a cosmetic company has made Padukone a global paparazzi magnet. She’s an ace at brand building and investments. From selling coffee to watches, Padukone’s current net worth is allegedly clocked at a whopping Dh 142 millon.

Summoned by police: Padukone is one of the most high-profile stars summoned by Narcotics Control Bureau for questioning, along with the likes of Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan. The former model was grilled for over six hours over her WhatsApp chat with manager Karishma Prakash in 2017 where she allegedly sought ‘maal’ (drugs) from her aide. It’s one of the few times that the narrative around Padukone was this unflattering.