Bollywood star Deepika Padukone talks to Standard Showbiz about #VogueEmpower, feeling like a Londoner and her SLAM! Tour

Deepika Padukone is in London to promote her SLAM! World Tour at the 02
(Photo credit: John Phillips/Getty Images)
Sarah Allidina6 October 2014
The Weekender

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Former model and leading Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has been busy promoting her new film Happy New Year in London and working with designer Anaita Dongre for #VogueEmpower, but the 28-year-old actress found time to talk to Standard Showbiz about her SLAM! Tour and upcoming projects.

Hi Deepika, can you tell us about the SLAM! Tour so far?

It’s my first World Tour and I remember a year ago these guys kept saying ‘You know we should do a world tour’ and I was like ‘Yeah yeah yeah, these discussions keep happening all the time and I don’t think it’s going to materialize’ but it happened finally and before we knew it we were on that flight and we were six shows down. We’ve become one family and I think that’s why we’ve had such a good time.

Will you be performing songs from Happy New Year?

Yes, but I think people are under the misconception that we’ll only be performing tracks from Happy New Year. Abhishek, Shah Rukh and myself, will also be performing lots of popular tracks from our other films.

In action: Deepika showing off her dance moves in Happy New Year

Can you tell us about your character Mohini?

She’s a bar dancer who is passionate about dance - but obviously she’s not very happy with the fact that that’s her only means to support her family. Eventually she wants to become famous and have enough money to open a dance school for all the young kids and to be able to teach dance.

How difficult was it to learn how to pole dance for the song Lovely?

It’s tough to lift yourself up when you’re tall. Farah (the director) seemed very impressed and she’s not someone who lets you off easily. We took about three and a half days to shoot that, where ideally we should have shot over six or seven days. It was one of the toughest songs I’ve done.

Is there anyone that you take inspiration from?

No not really because acting is something that is so personal. I’ve always believed that there’s no right and wrong to acting. It’s just about being true to that moment at that point. There are a lot of actresses whose work I admire but I’ve not grown up saying that I want to be like so-and-so because you have to have your own identity and be remembered for the roles that you play.

Co-stars: Deepika alongside her fellow stars in Happy New Year

Do you come to London very often?

I love coming to London. In fact I miss it because there was a phase where I shot three or four films back to back and I felt like I was a resident. Every time I went back home I felt like something was off. I think there are a lot of similarities culturally, between India and England.

Do you get recognised a lot here?

It’s almost the same as being in India. That’s the reach of our films today. It’s not limited to an Indian audience. It’s a nice feeling to be appreciated and recognised.

What are your favourite places to shop in London?

I like the feeling of walking down Old and New Bond Street. I like the feeling of just walking. Also stand-alone stores. I like the vibe but it has to be nice and sunny. Then of course there’s Selfridges. I love that little café upstairs, it’s very sweet.

Film stars: the movie poster featuring Deepika Padukone and Boman Irani

Could you tell us a bit about your collaboration with Anaita Dongre for Vogue India's #VogueEmower?

We’re still working on it. It is about women’s empowerment so it will revolve around that. Homi [Adajanaia] and I are making a short film together. The subject is women’s empowerment and we’ll see where it goes.

Do you have any upcoming projects?

I had only two releases this year - Finding Fanny and Happy New Year. I’ve started working on two films simultaneously, one is Peeko with Amitabh Bachchan and directed by Shoojit Sircar, that’s a father-daughter relationship story and I’ve also started shooting with Imtiaz Ali for a film called Tamasha.

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