In a short 30 years, Deepika Padukone has managed to go from former badminton champ to Kingfisher model to possibly, India’s most powerful female actor. We first recognised Deepika’s potent superstardom when she shot for our June 2005 cover, where she was touted as the model of the moment. Two years later, she would make her dream debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om, and begin her stratospheric rise to the very top of Bollywood’s celebrity food chain. Fast-forward to December 2016, when Deepika fronted our 20th anniversary cover issue, and little about her drive, poise and beauty has changed.
In her most recent interview, we asked the jet-setting star to describe her perfect day. She told us she’d “hopefully have slept by 10.30pm the night before as opposed to late, like 11.30 or midnight. I’d wake up at 8am, eat a good South Indian breakfast, throw in a workout. Then I’d clean my house. The whole house. Open all the cabinets, count the crockery. Make sure everything is in order. Then I’d do my accounts.”
While we’re hoping Deepika’s plans for the big 3-0 are a little more exciting than that, we thought to pay tribute to the reigning queen of Bollywood with a little trip down memory lane.
