When Deepika Padukone came down the red carpet in her iconic pink lehenga choli in Om Shanti Om, a star was born. Her debut as Shantipriya, back in 2007, remains one of the most successful introductions in Bollywood. While her screen presence appeared effortless, director Farah Khan recently spoke about the intense, meticulous grooming process that shaped the debutante.
Farah Khan on sculpting Deepika Padukone for Om Shanti Om
Choreographer and filmmaker Farah Khan recently spoke about grooming Deepika Padukone for her Bollywood debut with the film Om Shanti Om. The revelation came during an episode of Farah’s popular YouTube cooking vlog.
While cooking at actor Dia Mirza’s home, the conversation quickly went into how the industry treats newcomers. Mirza shared her own experiences from the early 2000s when she was thrown straight into massive 28-hour workdays with zero prior training or workshops.
This is when Khan looked directly into the camera and, addressing Padukone, she said, “Deepika, so much care I took of you.” Farah detailed how she transformed Deepika from a model into a silver-screen diva.
She revealed, “Pehle toh maine usse 3-4 mahine Anupam Kher ki classes mein bheja, fir maine usse Kathak classes mein bheja (First, I sent her to Anupam Kher’s acting classes for three to four months. After that, I enrolled her in Kathak classes). We did so many look tests.”
Her most important move was to delay Deepika’s actual shooting schedule. Instead of asking her to work from day one, Farah deliberately pushed Deepika’s shoot back by 10 days. However, the young actress wasn’t given a vacation. Farah instructed Deepika to be on set every single day just to absorb the atmosphere.
“I told her, ‘For the first 10 days, just come to the set and just be there on set, see how Shah Rukh Khan is working, how Shreyas Talpade is working. Just come and sit there every day,’” the Main Hoon Na helmer spilled.
The care and precision that Farah poured into Deepika eventually paid off. Om Shanti Om became a massive commercial blockbuster and cemented Deepika’s position as a talented actress.
