Deepika Padukone

## Introduction:

Deepika **Padukone** (pronounced [d̪iːpɪkaː
pəɖʊkoːɳ]; born 5 January 1986)
is an Indian film actress. One of the highest-paid actresses in the world,
Padukone is the recipient of several awards,
including three Filmfare Awards. She
features in listings of the nation's most popular and attractive personalities.

Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone,
was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore.
As a teenager, she played badminton in national level championships but left
her career in the sport to become a fashion model. She soon received offers for
film roles and made her acting debut in 2006 as the title character of the Kannada film *Aishwarya*. Padukone then played a dual role in her
first Bollywood release—the 2007 blockbuster *Om*
Shanti Om*—and won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone*
received praise for portraying the lead roles in the romance *Love Aaj Kal* (2009) and the drama *Lafangey Parindey* (2010), but her performances in the romance *Bachna Ae Haseeno* (2008) and the comedy *Housefull* (2010) were met with negative reviews.

The 2012 box office hit *Cocktail* marked a turning point in Padukone's career,
earning her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies.
She rose to prominence with starring roles in the romantic comedies *Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani* (2013) and *Chennai*
Express*(2013), the heist*
comedy *Happy New Year* (2014), and the historical romance *Bajirao*
Mastani*(2015), all of which*
rank among the highest-grossing Bollywood films. Padukone's
acclaimed portrayal of a character based on Juliet in the tragic romance *Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela* (2013) and a headstrong architect in the
comedy-drama *Piku* (2015) won her two Best Actress awards at Filmfare. Her first project in Hollywood came with the action film *xXx: Return of Xander Cage* (2017).

Alongside her acting career, Padukone participates in stage
shows, has written columns for an Indian newspaper, is a prominent celebrity
endorser for brands and products, and is vocal about issues such as feminism and depression.
She has designed her own line of clothing for women and is the founder of The
Live Love Laugh Foundation, which creates awareness on mental health in India.

## Early life and modelling career:

Deepika Padukone was born on 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark
to Konkani-speaking
parents.[1][2] Her father, Prakash,
is a former badminton player of international repute, and her mother, Ujjala,
is a travel agent.[3] Her younger sister, Anisha, is a golfer.[4] Her paternal grandfather, Ramesh, was a
secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association.[5] The family relocated to Bangalore, India
when Padukone was a year old.[6] She was educated at Bangalore's Sophia
High School and completed her
pre-university education at Mount Carmel College.[7] She subsequently enrolled at the Indira Gandhi National Open University for a Bachelor
of Arts degree in sociology
but later quit it due to scheduling conflicts with her modelling career.[6][8]

Padukone has admitted to being socially awkward as a child and
did not have many friends.[6] The focus of her life was badminton, which she
played competitively from a young age. Describing her daily routine in a 2012
interview, Padukone said, "I would wake up at five in the morning, go for
physical training, go to school, again go for playing badminton, finish my
homework, and go to sleep."[6] Padukone continued to pursue a career in
badminton throughout her school years and played the sport in national level
championships. She also played baseball in a few state level tournaments.[9] While concentrating on her education and
sporting career, Padukone also worked as a child model, first appearing in a
couple of advertising campaigns at the age of eight.[10] In the tenth
grade, she changed focus and decided to become a fashion model. She
later explained, "I realised that I was playing the game only because it
ran in the family. So, I asked my father if I could give up the game and he
wasn't upset at all."[11] In 2004, she began a full-time career as a
model under the tutelage of Prasad Bidapa.

Early in her career, Padukone gained recognition with a
television commercial for the soap Liril and modelled for various other brands and
products.[13][14] In 2005, she made her runway debut at the Lakme
Fashion Week for designer Suneet Varma and won the "Model of the Year"
award at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards.[15][16] Padukone's fame increased when she appeared in
a highly popular print campaign for the 2006 Kingfisher
Calendar;[17] the designer Wendell
Rodricks commented, "Since Aishwarya Rai, we
haven't had a girl as beautiful and fresh."[18] Rodricks had spotted her at a Ganjam jewellery
class he was teaching and signed her up with the Matrix agency.[19] At the age of 21, Padukone relocated to Mumbai and stayed at her aunt's home.[6] That year, she gained wider recognition by
featuring in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya's
song "Naam Hai Tera."[20]

Padukone soon began to receive offers for film roles.[21] Believing herself to be too inexperienced as
an actor, she instead enrolled for a course at Anupam
Kher's film academy.[22] Following much media speculation, the director Farah Khan, who had
noticed her in Reshammiya's music video, made the decision to cast her for a
role in *Happy New Year*.[6][17]

## Acting career:

**Film debut and breakthrough (2006–09)**

Padukone announced in 2006 that she would make her film debut
with *Aishwarya*, a Kannada
film directed by Indrajit Lankesh.[17] The romantic comedy was a remake of the Telugu film *Manmadhudu*, and she was cast in the title role opposite
the actor Upendra. The film
proved a major commercial success.[23] RG Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com was appreciative of Padukone's screen presence
but added that "she needs to work on her emotional scenes.

By the end of 2006, Farah Khan's *Happy New Year* was shelved, and Khan had instead cast Padukone for the reincarnation melodrama *Om*
Shanti Om*(2007).[25] Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry,*
the film tells the story of a struggling actor in the 1970s who dies soon after
witnessing the murder of the woman he loved and is reincarnated to avenge her
death. Shah Rukh Khan starred as the protagonist, and Padukone
featured in dual roles—Shantipriya, a leading actress of the 1970s, and later
as Sandy, an aspiring actress. She said, "I've grown up watching [Shah
Rukh] and always admired him so much. To get to work with him ... is quite
wonderful. It was also fantastic that Farah showed faith in my talent and cast
me opposite him."[26] In preparation for her role, Padukone watched
several films of actresses Helen and Hema
Malini to study their body
language, which she felt "were more graceful" and "completely
different from today's actors."[27] However, her voice was dubbed by the voice
artist Mona Ghosh Shetty.[28] For one of the songs in the film, "Dhoom
Taana,” Padukone drew upon Indian classical dance, and according to Dorling
Kindersley, "mesmeriz[ed] audiences" by using *hasta mudras* (hand gestures).[29] *Om Shanti Om* was a commercial success, and emerged as the highest-grossing film of the year, with a global
revenue of ₹1.49 billion (US$23 million).[30]Taran Adarsh of the entertainment portal Bollywood Hungama reviewed, "Deepika has all it takes to be
a top star—the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too.
Standing in the same frame as [Shah Rukh] and getting it right is no small
achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!"[31] At the annual Filmfare
Awards ceremony, Padukone was
awarded the Best Female Debut Award and received her first nomination in the Best Actress category.[32]

Bollywood Hungama reported that the success of *Om Shanti Om* proved a breakthrough for Padukone.[33] She followed this success with the role of
Gayatri (one of star Ranbir Kapoor's love
interests), a feisty student in Australia who moonlights as a cab driver in Yash Raj Films'
romantic comedy *Bachna Ae Haseeno* (2008). The film was a financial success,[34] but Namrata Joshi of *Outlook* wrote that Padukone's performance was
disappointing; "She is mannequin-like and utterly lacks fire and
zing.

Padukone's first release of 2009 came alongside Akshay Kumar in the Nikhil
Advani-directed kung fu comedy *Chandni Chowk To China*, in which she portrayed the dual roles of
Indian-Chinese twin sisters Sakhi and Suzy. Produced by Warner Bros., it had
one of the widest international releases ever given to an Indian film.[36] Padukone learned the Japanese martial art form
of jujutsu and performed her stunts without the use of a
body double.[37][38] Despite the hype, *Chandni Chowk To China* proved a major financial failure with
worldwide earnings of ₹554.7 million (US$8.6 million) on a budget of ₹800 million (US$12 million).[39][40] Film critics were generally disappointed with
the picture and Padukone's performance;[41] Justin Trout of *Orlando*
Weekly*noted, "She is so*
wasted in *Chandni Chowk*, my mind often wandered back to *Om Shanti Om* during her scenes, possibly as a defense mechanism."[42]

That same year, Padukone featured in an item number (for a song called "Love Mera Hit
Hit") in the drama *Billu*,[43] following which she appeared alongside Saif Ali Khan in the romantic
drama *Love Aaj Kal* from the writer-director Imtiaz Ali. The film documented the changing value of
relationships among the youth and had Padukone play the part of Meera Pandit, a
head-strong career woman. With a
worldwide gross of ₹1.2 billion (US$19 million), *Love Aaj Kal* proved to be the third highest-grossing film of 2009.[30] Aniruddha Guha of *Daily News and Analysis* said that Padukone "delivers the best of
her four performances so far" and Nikhat
Kazmi of *The Times of India* mentioned her as "definitive and
strong."[44][45] At the 55th
Filmfare Awards Padukone received a
nomination for Best Actress.

**Career struggles (2010–11)**

Padukone had five film releases in 2010. Her first role was in
Vijay Lalwani's psychological thriller *Karthik Calling Karthik*, where Padukone was cast as the supportive
girlfriend of a depressed man (played by Farhan
Akhtar) who goes through a series of changes after receiving
mysterious phone calls every morning. Derek Elley of *Variety* found the film to be "thinly
plotted" but added that "the uncomplicated ingenuousness of
Padukone ... helps make the tall tale convincing."[47] Commercially, the film performed poorly.[48] Her most economically profitable film that
year was Sajid Khan's ₹1.15 billion (US$18 million)-grossing comedy film *Housefull* in which she featured alongside an ensemble
cast including Akshay
Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Jiah Khan, and Boman Irani.[30] Raja Sen described the film as a "festival of bad
acting" and attributed Padukone's poor performance to her "plasticky
expressions."[49]

Pradeep
Sarkar's drama *Lafangey Parindey* (2010) saw Padukone star opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh in the role of Pinky Palkar, a blind girl
determined to win a skating competition. In preparation for her role, she
observed the interactions of blind people and rehearsed scenes while
blindfolded.[50] Writing for *The*
Hindu*, Sudhish Kamath was*
particularly impressed by Padukone and wrote that she "exercises
considerable restraint" in playing her part.[51] Later that year, *Hindustan*
Times*published that the*
film helped change people's perception of Padukone, with focus directed on her
acting prowess rather than her appearance.[52] Her next role was opposite Imran
Khan in the Danish Aslam-directed
romantic comedy *Break Ke Baad*. CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand found the film to be "reasonably
engaging" and noted that it was "watchable largely for the
performance of its leading lady."[53] Both *Lafangey Parindey* and *Break Ke Baad* underperformed at the box office.[48]

Padukone's final release of 2010 was Ashutosh
Gowarikar's period film *Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey* opposite Abhishek
Bachchan. Based on the book *Do and*
Die*by Manini Chatterjee,*
the film is a retelling of the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid.[54] Bachchan featured as the revolutionary leader Surya Sen and Padukone played Kalpana Dutta, his
confidante.[55] Padukone said that she did not research for
the role as there were "hardly ... any reference points as to what
Kalpana looked like other than a few photos," and relied completely on
Gowarikar's direction.[56] A review published in *The*
Telegraph*was appreciative of*
Padukone's portrayal, and the film received a generally positive critical
reception.[57][58] Despite this, it proved a major commercial
disappointment.[59]

Padukone began 2011 with an item number in Rohan Sippy's *Dum*
Maaro Dum*. The song was a*
remixed version of the iconic song "Dum
Maro Dum," from the 1971 film *Hare Rama Hare Krishna*, which featured Zeenat
Aman.[60] Padukone referred to it as "the wildest
song any actress has done;" the song's "suggestive lyrics" and
"raunchy moves" attracted controversy including a court case for
indecency.[61][62] Her next film was Prakash Jha's
socio-political drama *Aarakshan*, co-starring Amitabh
Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj
Bajpayee and Prateik Babbar,
which dealt with the political issue of caste-based
reservations in India. Trade journalists had high expectations for
the film which ultimately flopped at the box office.[63][64] Critical reaction was largely negative, though Pratim D. Gupta mentioned Padukone as the most
"refreshing thing about [the] movie."[65][66] Her final appearance that year was in Rohit
Dhawan's comedy-drama *Desi Boyz* alongside Akshay Kumar, John
Abraham and Chitrangada Singh, a
role that failed to propel her career forward.[67][68] The series of poorly received films led
critics to perceive that Padukone had "[lost] her sparkle."[69]

**Establishing with *Cocktail* (2012–14):**

In an interview for *The*
Indian Express*,*
Padukone said that her starring role in the 2012 Homi
Adajania-directed romantic comedy *Cocktail* marked a significant turning point in her
career.[70] Raja Sen of Rediff.com opined that she had
successfully proved to be a "stunning girl who can also act."[71] Set in London, *Cocktail* tells the story of a
software engineer (played by Saif Ali Khan) and his relationship with two
temperamentally different women—an impulsive party girl (Veronica, played by
Padukone) and a submissive girl next door (Meera, played by Diana Penty). During
the script narration, the producer Dinesh Vijan offered Padukone the choice of
which woman to play; she decided on Veronica to expand her horizons as an
actress.[72] Portraying the role was a creative and
physical challenge for her, and to achieve the physical requirements of her
character she exercised extensively and followed a rigorous diet.[73][74] Critics were divided in their opinion of the
film, but particularly praised Padukone's performance;[75] Devesh Sharma of *Filmfare* credited her as the "soul of the
film" and wrote that she "excels in every scene, whether as a
material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden
girl out to destroy herself."[76] *Cocktail* earned Padukone Best Actress nominations at several award
ceremonies, including Filmfare, Screen, and IIFA.[77] The film proved a box office hit as well.[78]

In 2013, Padukone established herself as a leading actress of
contemporary Hindi cinema by featuring in four of the top-grossing productions of the year.[79][80] She collaborated with Saif Ali Khan for the
fourth time (alongside John Abraham, Jacqueline
Fernandez, Ameesha Patel, and Anil Kapoor) in Abbas-Mustan's *Race 2*, an ensemble action thriller that served as a
sequel to the 2008 film *Race*. The film received predominantly negative
reviews from critics,[81] but with a total collection of ₹1.62 billion (US$25 million), it proved to be a
commercial success.[82][83] In a particularly scathing review, Saibal
Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Padukone and Fernandez "strut around
like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go."[84]

Ayan
Mukerji's romantic comedy *Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani* was Padukone's next film release. Co-starring
alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Kalki Koechlin, and Aditya Roy Kapoor,
she was cast as Naina Talwar, a "shy wallflower," which marked a
departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for
portraying.[85] Film critics praised Padukone's performance,
though their response to the film was mixed.[86][87] Raja Sen thought that the film "lacked a
good story" but added that Padukone "acts within herself and eschews
exaggeration, and the results are impressive ... This may be her most
self-aware performance so far".[88] The pairing of Padukone with her former
boyfriend was highly anticipated,[89] and the film proved a major success with a
worldwide revenue of ₹3.02 billion (US$47 million).[82][90] Her next appearance was opposite Shah Rukh
Khan in Rohit Shetty's
action-comedy film *Chennai Express*. She played Meenalochini Azhagusundaram, a Tamil girl on the run from her father (a local don), which required
that she adopt a Tamil accent. Critical opinion on her accent was mixed,[91] but her performance received praise;[86] film critic Aseem Chhabra concluded,
"Padukone is delightful in the film—beautiful, smiling, and often a lot
more playful and funny than Khan."[92] *Chennai Express* was Padukone's second consecutive release to
earn over ₹3 billion (US$47 million) in worldwide ticket sales; both *Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani* and *Chennai Express* rank among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time.

Padukone next played opposite Ranveer
Singh in *Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela*, an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of *Romeo and Juliet* from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Her role was Leela, a Gujarati girl based on the character of Juliet.[94] Initially titled *Ram-Leela*,
the film's title was changed after a court case was registered against
Bhansali, Padukone, and Singh for "offending the religious
sentiments" of the Hindu community by showcasing sex and violence under a
title that referred to the life of Lord
Rama.[95] *Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela* released among protests across several states
in India, but was generally well received by critics.[96][97] Meena Iyer of *The Times of India* mentioned Padukone as "breathtaking", and writing for *Deccan Chronicle*, Khalid
Mohamed concluded that
"it’s Deepika Padukone whom the film belongs to. Looking drop dead
gorgeous and going at her part with a wallop, she’s the prime asset of *Ram-Leela*."[98][99] The film earned ₹2.02 billion (US$31 million) worldwide, making it
Padukone's fourth consecutive box office hit of the year.[80][83] Her performances in *Chennai Express* and *Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela* won her several awards,[100] including the Screen Award for Best Actress for both films and the Filmfare Award for Best
Actress for the latter.

In 2014, Padukone featured opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil
film *Kochadaiiyaan*, a period drama that was shot using motion capture technology.[103] She was paid ₹30 million (US$470,000) for two days worth of work in the
film.[104][105] In Homi Adajania's widely praised satire *Finding Fanny*, Padukone played a young widow who takes a
road trip with her dysfunctional friends (played by Arjun Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj
Kapur) in search of a woman named Fanny.[106] The film was screened at the 19th Busan International Film Festival;[107] critic Anuj Kumar of *The Hindu* wrote that Padukone successfully "takes
off the fineries of Bollywood and you can sense the freedom from baggage in her
performance".[108] Later that year, she starred opposite Shah
Rukh Khan for the third time in Farah Khan's renewal of *Happy New Year*. She played a bar dancer who trains a group
of underachievers for a dance competition. Sanjukta Sharma of *Mint* found her role to be of minimal importance
that required her only to be "a pretty thing to be laughed at and
pitied", but the film became one of her most successful, earning over ₹3.4 billion (US$53 million) worldwide.[109][110]

***Piku* and beyond (2015–present):**

Following an appearance in an online video on feminism, entitled *My Choice*, under the direction of Homi Adajania,[111] Padukone took on the role of a headstrong Bengali architect who cares for her hypochondriac
father (played by Amitabh Bachchan), in Shoojit
Sircar's comedy-drama *Piku* (2015). Reviews for the film were positive;[112] Tanmaya Nanda of *Business*
Standard*praised the film's*
feminist tone, and wrote that Padukone proves "what she is capable of when
given something more to do than look pretty and be the crazy-dance girl at
parties".[113] NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee opined that she
"holds *Piku* together with a restrained star turn".[114] With a worldwide gross of over ₹1.40 billion (US$22 million), the film emerged as a
box office hit, and garnered Padukone several awards, including second Best
Actress awards at Filmfare and Screen.[115][116]

Later that year, Padukone played the part of a businessperson
who helps Ranbir Kapoor's character overcome his conflicts in Imtiaz Ali's
romantic drama *Tamasha*. Despite poor financial returns, Sukanya
Verma of Rediff.com named Padukone's performance as the best by an actress that
year, writing that she "is so potent in *Tamasha*, it’s almost as if
you can hear her heartbeat across the screen". In her final release of 2015, Padukone
reunited with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh in *Bajirao Mastani*, a historical drama about a tragic
extramarital affair.

Singh was cast as the maratha general Bajirao
I, while Priyanka Chopra and Padukone featured as his first and second
wife, respectively. In preparation for the role of the warrior-princess Mastani,
Padukone learnt sword-fighting, horse-riding and kalaripayattu.[119] With a revenue of over ₹3.3 billion (US$51 million), *Bajirao Mastani* proved to be the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.[120] Anupama Chopra found Padukone "riveting" in the
film, but Subhash K. Jha while praising her "grace and
dignity" thought that she was "way too subtle and silken, and not
steely enough as [a] firebrand warrior-princess".[121][122] At the 61st
Filmfare Awards, *Bajirao Mastani* was named Best Film and Padukone received her second Best Actress nomination in that
year.

The action film *xXx: Return of Xander Cage* (2017), in which Padukone played the lead
female role of Serena Unger, opposite Vin
Diesel, marked her first project in Hollywood.[124] Critical reception of the film was mixed.[125] Tirdad Derakhshani of *The Philadelphia Inquirer* termed the film a "repetitious heap of
remarkably tedious CGI-enhanced action scenes" and thought that Padukone's
talent was wasted in it.[126] Conversely, Frank Scheck of *The Hollywood Reporter* believed that she had successfully
"outclassed" Diesel to "practically [steal] the film".[127] The film earned over US$345 million worldwide,
a majority of which came from the Chinese box office.[128] Padukone received a Teen Choice Award nomination in the Choice Action Movie Actress
category.[129] She followed this with an item number on the
title soundtrack in the romantic drama *Raabta*.[130]

**Upcoming projects**

As of June 2017, Padukone is filming the part of Rani Padmini in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical drama *Padmavati*, opposite Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, which
marks her third collaboration with Bhansali and Singh.[131] In addition, she has committed to star as
Rahima Khan, a Mumbai-based gangster from the 1980s who plots to assassinate Dawood Ibrahim, in Vishal Bhardwaj's
as-yet untitled crime drama, co-starring Irrfan
Khan.[132] Padukone will also reprise the part of Unger
in the fourth installment of the *xXx* franchise.[133]

### Other work:

In addition to acting, Padukone has written opinion columns and
has been involved with women's health and fitness magazines. She has also
supported charitable organisations, and has performed for stage shows. In 2009,
she was hired by *Hindustan Times* to write weekly columns for their lifestyle
section; through these columns she interacted with her fans and passed details
of her personal and professional life.[134][135] That year, she participated in the World
10K Bangalore marathon, which raised ₹13.1 million (US$200,000) in support of 81 NGOs.[136][137] In 2010, Padukone adopted the Maharashtrian village of Ambegaon as part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, to
provide the village with a regular supply of electricity.[138] She visited Indian *jawans* (troops) in Jammu, for an Independence Day special episode of NDTV's reality show *Jai Jawaan*.

Padukone took part in the opening ceremony of the third season of the Indian Premier League at the DY
Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.[140] Three years later, she performed alongside
Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Pitbull for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.[141] In 2014, she participated in a concert tour
across North America, entitled "SLAM! The Tour", in which she
performed alongside her co-stars from *Happy New Year*.[142] Padukone has also been involved with the Olympic
Gold Quest team, established by
her father and Geet Sethi to support Indian athletes at the Olympic
Games, along with sports personalities such as Leander
Paes and Viswanathan Anand and several other actors.[143] In 2013, she launched her own line of clothing
for women, in association with the retail chain Van
Heusen.[144] Two years later, Padukone collaborated with
the fashion portal Myntra to launch another line under her brand
"All About You".[145]

Padukone has also been outspoken on issues such as feminism and
has said, "New feminism isn't about being aggressive; it's about reaching
the top yet being soft. It's about being you — feminine, strong and full of
will power.”[146] In a 2015 interview, Padukone spoke about her
personal experience of overcoming depression,
and in October that year she formed a foundation to create awareness on mental
health in India, named The Live Love Laugh Foundation.[147][148] The following year, she launched a campaign
named More Than Just Sad to assist general physicians in their treatment of
patients suffering from depression or anxiety.[149] Also in 2016, the foundation teamed with
Facebook and the AASRA organisation to launch multilingual tools and educational
resources in Facebook's networking site to support people with suicidal
tendencies.[150] Padukone became the brand ambassador for the
NGO Indian Psychiatric Society and on her foundation's first anniversary, the
two organisations collaborated to launch the video and poster campaign
#DobaraPoocho dedicated to victims and survivors of depression.[151][152]

## Personal life:

Padukone shares a close bond with her family, and visits them
regularly in her hometown of Bangalore.[153] She lives by herself in Prabhadevi, a
neighbourhood in Mumbai, and admits to missing the presence of her family
there.[6][154] She says, "I miss them, but luckily I
have a life of my own, which keeps me from getting homesick. I wouldn’t want
them to uproot their lives from Bengaluru just to be with me."[155] A practicing Hindu, Padukone
considers religion to be an important aspect of her life and makes frequent
visits to temples and other religious shrines.[156]

While filming *Bachna Ae Haseeno* in 2008, Padukone began a romantic
relationship with co-star Ranbir Kapoor.[157] She spoke openly about the relationship and
sported a tattoo of his initials on the nape of her neck.[158] She has said that the relationship had a
profound effect on her, transforming her into a more confident and social
person.[6] The Indian media speculated on an engagement,
and reported that this had occurred in November 2008, although Padukone had
stated that she had no plans to marry within the next five years.[159]The couple broke up a year later;[160] she professed in an interview to feeling
"angry" and "betrayed" for a long time, but insisted that
they remained on good terms.[6] In a 2010 interview, Padukone made a comment
that the media speculated was a reference to her break-up with Kapoor:[161]

The first time he cheated on me, I thought
there was something wrong with me or the relationship, but when someone makes a
habit of it, you know the problem lies with him. Yet I was foolish enough to
give him a second chance because he begged and pleaded, despite the fact that
everyone around me said he was still straying. I guess I really wanted to
believe in him. Then I actually caught him red-handed. It took me a while to
get out. But having done that, nothing can make me go back.[162]

Kapoor initially denied the allegations, but according to *The Times of India*, he later admitted to the infidelity.[163] In 2013, following the production of *Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani*, Padukone told *Filmfare* that she now
"shares a great comfort level" with him.[164]

In 2011, a set of pictures showing Padukone kissing the actor Siddharth Mallya at an Indian Premier League match were made available on the web.[165] This led to wide speculation in the media
about the nature of their relationship,[166] which Padukone declined to talk about
publicly. The following year there were reports about a break-up, to which she
said: "Just because we are not seen together, it doesn't mean that we are
not friends anymore."[167] She has since denied reports of her link-up to
Ranveer Singh, stating that she is "not in a frame of mind to be in a
relationship."[168]