How Deepika Padukone stood against political storm unfazed

Bollywood luminary Deepika Padukone has faced political backlash throughout her career, but the star asserts that she remains undeterred by it all. In an interview with Time magazine, Padukone revealed that she is not affected by the ongoing criticism she receives.

The actress was first met with political controversy over her role as Queen Padmavati in the film Padmavat. Following objections from a fringe outfit, certain scenes in the movie were altered and the title changed from Padmavati to Padmavat, as it was deemed disrespectful to Rajputs.

In January 2020, Padukone faced backlash for her attendance at a student protest against the amended Citizenship Act at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Although she did not speak at the protest, her presence drew both attention and trolling.

More recently, the actress caused a stir with her appearance in the song "Besharam Rang" from the film Pathaan. Some right-wing groups claimed that the sight of Padukone wearing a saffron-coloured bikini was disrespectful to the Hindu community, for whom the colour is considered holy.

Despite the criticism, Padukone has continued to focus on her work, and her recent performance as a Pakistani agent in Pathaan was a huge success, breaking all box office records with more than Rs 542 crore in all India nett collections.

The actress has two big releases coming up: the sci-fi action movie Project K, co-starring Prabhas, and Siddharth Anand's next film, Fighter, which also stars Hrithik Roshan. Both films are scheduled to be released in January next year.

Before that, Padukone will make a special appearance in Shah Rukh Khan's next film, Jawan, which reportedly features Khan in a double role, with Padukone playing the wife of one of the characters.