Padukone takes on tough genre

Chennai Express: Deepika Padukone seen here in Chennai Express with Shahrukh Khan.

Chennai Express: Deepika Padukone seen here in Chennai Express with Shahrukh Khan.

Published Aug 12, 2013

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DEEPIKA Padukone debuted in Bollywood in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om opposite superstar Shahrukh Khan (SRK). But the beautiful actress says she was really scared to meet him for the first time.

She also says it was Farah Khan who took her to Mannat to meet SRK. Padukone and Khan are working together once again in Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express.

At a recent promotion for Chennai Express, Padukone talked about her first meeting with co-star Khan.

“I was really scared to meet him that first time. Farah took me to meet Shahrukh at his home in Mumbai.

I was dressed like a Yash Chopra heroine, in a white shalwar kameez (a traditional dress worn by women and men), because that was the impression I had; that to be a successful actress in Bollywood, you had to have blow-dried straight hair and wear a white suit.”

Chennai Express releases on Eid and it will be the widest Indian release in India and overseas with more than 4 200 screenings (at least 3 500 in India and more than 700 overseas).

Meanwhile, Bollywood Hungama’s Joginder Tuteja reports that in a career spanning half-a-decade and 15 odd films, Padukone has not really done a fully fledged comedy.

But now she is, no doubt, getting much more than she bargained for in Chennai Express where she has gained first-hand experience of the Rohit Shetty brand of comedy which is as relentless as it gets.

With Khan managing to keep Padukone in fits of giggles with his charm, it has turned out to be a double whammy for her.

Deepika Padukone has been a part of many urban romcoms and some dramatic films, but true comedy is not something she has yet indulged in.

Yes, there was Housefull but then the film did not allow much scope for her to stretch her comic act to the fullest.

No wonder, when she stepped into the mad world of Chennai Express, it was an altogether new challenge.

“She had to be on her toes, literally, for each and every scene since Rohit is a master when it comes to putting together comic scenes, and Shahrukh comes with tons of experience,” said a source.

Add to that the fact that she is playing a typical south Indian Tamil girl and things become doubly difficult for her as she could neither overdo nor underplay the part.

Padukone says: “Yes, Chennai Express has been a completely new world for me; not just in terms of the genre, but also in terms of the character I am playing.

“I have come to realise comedy is a very different and difficult genre to do.

“Moreover, there was no shielding for me either, since this is not like another multi-starrer by Rohit, where you can afford to take your place in a corner.

“In the film it is just Shahrukh and me which means the responsibility to deliver is all the more.”

Nikitin Dheer plays the villain in Chennai Express. After taking part in films like Jodhaa Akbar, Ready and Dabangg 2, Dheer has now been signed up for Chennai Express.

Dheer said he was really excited to be part of the film.

He added that even though his was a negative character, it was vital to the film. His role in Chennai Express required him to put on 20kg.

Chennai Express is a commercial film with a romantic angle. The movie’s plot concerns a 40-year-old bachelor, Rahul, who goes on an unexpected journey which makes him realise the importance of love, life, relationships and sacrifice.

The stimulating train journey not only takes Rahul, accidentally, to his destination but also makes him realise the power of true love…

This film is a hilarious trip which teaches you about the serious relationships in life. – bollywoodhungama.com, oneindia.in

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