Deepika’s Incredible Journey From A Being A Sportstar To The Queen Bee Of The Industry

The svelte beauty, Deepika Padukone has made it big for herself in the industry and she rightfully deserves to be called Bollywoood’s undisputed Queen. Her journey so far is one of the most inspirational stories that we can hear. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon unlike many other stars but has achieved more than what she had wished for in a few years and it is the result of her dedication and hard work. Even after coming from a non-glamorous background, she has her own glamour quotient. As a kid she wanted to become a badminton player just like her father but eventually she found her real calling in the glamorous world. And now, she is one of the top actresses in Bollywood. Her journey from a 'sportstar' to the 'Queen Diva' in Bollywood has been commendable and is a story that all of us should know. Let us now take a look at her inspirational journey : Deepika Padukone is the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, born in Copenhagen, Denmark and raised in Bangalore. Deepika always wanted to become a badminton player just like her father. She represented Karnataka at the State level as a badminton player during her school days. She continued to pursue a career in badminton throughout her school years and played the sport for National level championships too. She even played baseball in a few State Level tournaments. What an avid sports player! A true sportstar! :) While concentrating on her education and sports career, Deepika also worked as child model. At the age of eight, she appeared in a couple of advertising campaigns. Probably, this laid the foundation for her in the industry. Being an avid badminton player, Deepika always wanted to pursue a career in sports but eventually she had a change of mind that led her into the glamour industry. Finally, she decided to become a model. In an interview she had revealed, “I realized that I was playing the game only because it ran in the family. So I asked my father if I could give up the game and he wasn’t upset at all”. In 2004, Deepika began her modelling career under the guidance of Prasad Bidapa, a well-known fashion consultant. This marked her entry into the industry of advertisements. This even paved her way into her acting career. Before becoming an A listed actress in Bollywood she appeared in many television commercials and even gained recognition with the television advertisements such as of soap Liril, Close-Up, Limca and Dabur. At the age of 21, Deepika moved to Mumbai and started struggling to enter into Bollywood. She gained recognition by featuring in the music video with Himesh Reshammiya in his most famous song Naam Hai Tera. After garnering some appreciation, Deepika received offers for films. But she joined Anupam Kher’s film academy to polish her acting skills instead. She believed that before accepting any film she needed to work a little harder and put in some more efforts to make herself look good in front of the camera. This certainly reveals how dedicated she is towards her work. Finally in 2007, Deepika made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om directed by Farah Khan. With this movie performing very well at the box office, Deepika surely made a place for herself in the industry. She even won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. With a magnificent debut as hers, anyone would have thought she will make it easily. But, she was destined to struggle more. The years that followed proved to be crucial for Deepika. Om Shanti Om followed a number of flops like Chandni Chowk To China, Lafange Parindey and more. But then she was a fighter and dealt with the failures very well. Then 2012 marked the turning point of her career. Cocktail, in 2012, which was a blockbuster hit paved the way to success for Deepika. She earned critical acclaim and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies for Cocktail. Since then, the gorgeous lady hasn’t looked back. She appeared in many blockbusters like Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Ram-Leela, Chennai Express and more. The films were appreciated by the audience and Deepika was applauded for her fabulous performances. With back to back blockbuster movies and power-packed performances, Deepika became the superstar of Bollywood. But unfortunately, it didn’t bring her any happiness. She was strong enough to confess that she was depressed despite being successful. But even then she didn’t falter and fought with depression. She also opened an organisation then, named, Live, Love, Laugh to help people deal with this mental illness. This reveals what a fighter Deepika is! She channelled her weaknesses in the right direction and turned it into one of her strengths. The year 2015 proved to be another successful year for the leggy lass. Her performance in the films like Piku, Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani garnered appreciation from the audience as well as earned critical acclaim. She won many accolades for her film Piku in different award ceremonies. After her immense success in the industry, she has made her way into Hollywood. She will soon be seen in her Hollywood debut film XXX : Return Of Xander Cage opposite Vin Diesel. Deepika’s journey from being a sportstar to a glamourous Hollywood debutant has been commendable and she has won millions of hearts with her stupendous performances. With the immense talent that she possesses she has already carved out a niche for herself. We love you Deepika and we wish you all the very best for your future endeavours and hope that you excel in whatever you do! :)

Jashaswini Mohapatra

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