If you don’t know her yet, now might be the time to check out Deepika Padukone, the Bollywood actress who is one of the most famous women on the subcontinent. From Cannes Film Festival jury member to Cartier muse, how did she put the world at her feet?
Committed actress, producer, philanthropist and entrepreneur of Indian origin, Deepika Padukone has more than one string to its bow. This 37 year old young woman of Indian origin is a star adored in his country, which remains the leading film producer in the world, far ahead of the United States.
You should know that Bollywood – the contraction of Bombay and Hollywood – initially refers to some 360 productions that come out of Mumbai studios each year and which have more than 30 million viewers worldwide… per day.
From TV to Cinema
Deepika Padukone was born in Denmark to a top-level sportsman father and a travel agent mother. Very early on, she started modeling. It was thanks to a television advertisement that her career took off in India and took her close to Bollywood, where she soon made a name for herself.
She also continues her career in modeling and works for several top indian brandsbefore becoming muse for Maybelline.
After a conclusive first film for the young actress, the proposals follow one another and she quickly becomes a great Bollywood actress. To date, she has more than 30 films.
In 2017, she made her first steps in Hollywood alongside Vin Diesel in the movie xXx: Reactivatedwhose trailer was a huge success with more than 100 million views in one week on Facebook and YouTube.
Despite a quick and successful start to her career, she nevertheless overcomes a few setbacks.
After the United States, she decided to create his production company – Ka production- which is not very successful with only two films produced so far: chhappak, which deals with a societal subject that remains a real scourge in India: women attacked with acid. Then 83a lighter feature film, released 2 years ago.
According to the Indian tabloid bollywood hungamathe star is also said to have lost a coveted role in 2021 after demanding that the production revise his salary upwards – in order to bring it in line with that of the other main actor, her husband Ranveer Singh.
I’gender pay gap being a deep-seated issue in many industries, Deepika Padukone spoke out in 2019 about turning down a role that didn’t pay her as much as her male counterparts. “I don’t think I would be able to live with the idea that, despite the same kind of creative input from my male co-star, I was underpaid,” she told The Indian Express.
An icon with a big I and a big heart
On the subcontinent, Deepika Padukone is seen as an icon, even a saint. In 2015, she founded an association called Live Love Laugh Foundation to educate Indians about mental illness. She has also written opinion columns and collaborated with women’s health and fitness magazines. She also supports various charities by participating in fundraisers.
She engages in the political debate in India to defend secularism and intervenes in January 2020, alongside one of the best known representatives of the Communist Party of India Kanhaiya Kumar and the president of the Union of students of the JNY Aishe Ghosh, on the campus of a progressive university , which had been attacked by thugs.
The superstar actress, considered one of Asia’s most famous women, and among the highest paid in Bollywood marked the spirits during this fight. On social networks, his fans as his detractors, did not fail to react. Some call for a boycott of her latest film or make more than virulent remarks, while others congratulate her.
In addition to her cap as an actress, producer and activist, Deepika Padukone turns out to be a real businesswoman. Last year, she launched her own personal care brand called 82°E.
An accomplished woman
Over the years, she has made a name for herself around the world, beyond the big screen. Followed by 74 million followers on Instagram, she now belongs to the ultra-closed circle of the 100 biggest influencers on the planet. She is placed just in front of Emma Watson and has a few places behind David Beckham. Forbes magazine ranked him among the 100 most influential people in the world.
Recently, cartierthe jeweler of kings, asked her to become one of its ambassadorslending its features to the new high jewelry lines.
From advertising to cinema and from model to muse, Deepika Padukone is an accomplished woman, who now weighs more than 40 million dollars.
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Photo on the front page: © Presse
