Imtiaz 'Doubted' for Casting Deepika Padukone in Love Aaj Kal, Says 'People Thought She Wasn't Good'

One of Bollywood’s leading ladies, Deepika Padukone completed 15 glorious years in the film industry today, November 9. The actress got her big break in the 2007 film Om Shanti Om where she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Before that, she was seen in a Kannada film titled Aishwarya. Ever since Deepika has gone on to star in several hit Bollywood films and worked with some of the top filmmakers in the country. As the actress completed 15 years, her Love Aaj Kal and Tamasha director Imitiaaz Ali recalled meeting her for the first time and working with her.

The director told Indian Express that people didn’t expect Deepika to be a good actress, she was just expected to be a pretty and beautiful face. He said, “As an actress, people didn’t think she was good. I remember very well that my choice of her, even as late as Love Aaj Kal, was doubted. She was supposed to be beautiful, pretty but not a good actor. She has changed that over the years."

Talking about Love Aaj Kal, the filmmaker shared that Deepika was quite young when they were doing that film but she tried to behave as though she is older. The film starred Saif Ali Khan opposite the actress. Imtiaz Ali continued, “When Deepika was doing Love Aaj Kal with me, she was very young. But she looked older than she was at that point of time. She also tried to behave as though she is older. And then one day, something happened. I suddenly saw her for the youngster she is and the ice broke. She started to joke around, we chilled out, before that it was a slightly formal relationship. After that, we started sharing secrets, talking about vulnerabilities and I realised she had become so much more open."

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Imitiaz also recalled the first time he met Deepika. He revealed that they were messaging each other and had decided to meet at a coffee shop. However, prior to that, he had not seen her or her films. But when she got off from her car at the Mariott hotel, the filmmaker looked and her and thought she must be the girl because “she had that look in her eyes."

On the work front, Deepika Padukone has an interesting lineup of films ahead of her. In a couple of months, she will be reuniting with her first co-star Shah Rukh Khan on the big screen for the film Pathaan. Next, she will be seen in films such as Project K, Cirkus and Jawan.

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