Page 17 - September 2022 Edition

put in to get where I am today. Managing a home is not a the first meeting, Atul signed me up. My parents were
chore—it is something I enjoy doing. For instance, when thrilled because we never knew how to read contracts,
I have people over, I don’t just get a party planner. I set or how to negotiate, so we welcomed all the help. And
the menu myself, serve home-cooked food because that’s then, of course, some of it is also my own learning. I
how I have seen it with my mother; we are still very hit the ground running and learnt on the go, right from
traditional.” what one must do in front of the camera to everything
that goes on behind the scenes—negotiations, money,
EARLY MENTORS contracts. We have also been taken for a ride and
“Besides my parents, I’d say Anila Anand (producer), have made mistakes. Shah Rukh and Farah, from the
professionally. She is really the person responsible for time they decided that I was their gril, and they were
introducing me to the modelling world and ensuring going to launch me, have always looked after me. That
I did the right campaigns. Photographer Atul Kasbekar is emotion will never change. It has been 13 years since Om
another person who really took me under his wings and Shanti Om, and Shah Rukh still corrects me and is very
held my hand through the entire process. When I started protective. Farah is like my second mother. They both
off, my parents were doing everything, and the concept groomed me on how to conduct myself in front of the
of an agency was absolutely alien to us in India. After media, and presented me well, not just during the film,
but also during marketing and promotion. The audiences
take to certain pairings. For me, whether it is with Shah
AS AN ACTOR, HE (RANVEER) Rukh, Ranveer, or Ranbir, these pairings have become
iconic. Chemistry is not something you can create,
IS PROBABLE THE BEST WE’VE
though certain films and characters are written a certain
HAD IN A REALLY LONG TIME; way, but at the end the two energies come together.
HIS VERSATILITY IS UNMATCHED It’s not on paper, sometimes magic just happens. And,
fortunately, I have had it with a couple of them.”

ON MARRIAGE AND RANVEER
Deepika started Phase 2 of her life with Ranveer as her
partner; they are amazing together and there is that
certain aura of friendship and togetherness around
them. He has that undeniable infectious energy. So, what
attracted her to Ranveer? “Everybody talks about his
energy but what most people don’t realise is that this is
not who he is all the time. What attracted me to him was
the fact is that we have been together for eight years and
are still discovering each other. I think that is the beauty
of our relationship. We started off not as lovers but close
friends, who connected at some level, even though we
are very different people. So, even today, I don’t think
he knows everything about me, and I can’t say I know
everything about him.”
What does she think of him as an actor? “As an actor,
he is probable the best we’ve had in a really long time; his
versatility is unmatched. I don’t think there’s any actor in
the current generation who has his versatility. Very often
you still see the actor in the character, but, when you see
Ranveer play a role, there is an absolute transformation
and I haven’t seen that in a long time. Professionally,
whatever he’s achieved is there for everybody to see...
But, at a personal level, he is all heart, and his sense of
humour, his achievements, his versatility, his warmth are
obvious. But, beneath all of that though, he is extremely
childlike.

17 • PAGE3 LIFESTYLE • SEP 2022