10 years of Deepika Padukone: The girl from that Close-Up ad is now ruling Bollywood and her mesmerising beauty isn’t the only reason for her success

Deepika Padukone started her Bollywood journey with 2007’s Om Shanti Om.

Who knew that a girl from a toothpaste commercial would one day become the reigning queen of Bollywood? Deepika Padukone was first seen by a nation-wide audience in a commercial where she strolled around in her pyjamas. As is the case with potential stars, that ad had everyone talking about the new girl whose smile faintly reminded us of Madhuri Dixit’s carefree smile. Her smile could light up a 30 second ad, what impact could she have if she starred in a feature film.

From the word go, Deepika Padukone’s screen presence created an aura that promised that this young woman was meant for bigger things. Soon, she was seen doing many more commercials and then landed a spot in Himesh Reshammiya’s music video. The music video was a raging hit and the news came along that this glorious girl, who was also known as Badminton legend Prakash Padukone’s daughter, would be making her film debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

In Om Shanti Om (2007), Deepika was presented like a graceful, mesmerising beauty. Her majestic looks were simply unparalleled, she was a perfectionist at dancing and it looked like Bollywood had found its new ‘It girl’. There could have been no better launchpad for her than a film that starred Shah Rukh Khan and was being anticipated as the biggest film of the year. She won various newcomer awards and her fan base grew manifold.

Deepika Padukone made her Hindi film debut with Om Shanti Om (2007).

But this glorious start did not guarantee a successful journey ahead. With films like Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Karthik Calling Karthik (2010), Break Ke Baad (2010), it was starting to become evident that the girl who had a thunderous start at the beginning of her Bollywood journey wasn’t delivering on the promise. Looking back at the start, Deepika created quite an impact with her debut performance but the credit for the same also goes to her dubbing artist for Om Shanti Om. She was still appearing in many films but criticism around Deepika’s acting started rising after every film that released. She was still starring in all the big films but much like many other female actors who have no meaty parts in their films, Deepika’s roles were getting limited to the ones where she was mainly seen as the hero’s arm-candy.

She was still hailed as the most beautiful actor Bollywood had seen in the longest time but her performances were letting her fans down. This was a huge reminder that having a pretty face on the poster does not guarantee a film or an actor’s success. At the end of the day, it’s the performance that matters.

Still from Love Aaj Kal (2009).

The 2012 film Cocktail changed the trajectory of Deepika’s career massively. Over the years, the film has received much backlash on its stereotypical representation of women but no one can deny that this was the first time that Deepika truly shone on the silver screen since her debut. Her unabashed Veronica became a cult figure and while there isn’t much to rave about Cocktail, the film, it gave a boost to the promise Deepika had made to her fans at the start of her journey.

Post Cocktail, there was a massive change of perception for Deepika Padukone. No longer was she just treated as a pretty face, in fact, with films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Finding Fanny (2014), one could expect a confident performance that came with her name on the poster.

Homi Adajania’s Cocktail (2012) completely revamped Deepika Padukone’s career.

With 2015’s Piku, Deepika became one of the few female actors who could carry a film on her shoulders. Her impressive performance against stellar actors like Irrfan and Amitabh Bachchan was a testament to the fact that Deepika had grown massively as an actor. Her dialogue delivery, screen presence and even her silences spoke something. With actors like Vidya Balan and Kangana Ranaut already championing women-oriented films, Deepika’s performance in Piku was another feather in Bollywood’s cap.

Even though her role in Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha (2015) was limited, one could see how far Deepika had come from her Love Aaj Kal days. With her upcoming film Padmavati, Deepika has challenged the conventional norms of beauty by sporting a unibrow and if her past work with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is taken into consideration, one can be certain that this film would impress Deepika’s fans all over again.

Deepika Padukone will next be seen in Padmavati.

Deepika entered the industry as the pretty girl who charmed her audience with her magnificent beauty but her growth as an actor proves that in this brutal business of Bollywood, survival can be maintained only if one works on their craft.