She’s the girl of the moment, even before the release of her debut film ‘Om Shanti Om’ with Shah Rukh Khan. And while she should be used to the public eye, given that her dad is former badminton champ Prakash Padukone, Deepika reveals her childhood was as normal as it could get.

“Dad was never affected by his celebrity status; he was and still is so humble and down-to-earth. But even though we had the most normal childhood at home, outside my sister (15-year-old golf player Anisha) and I were looked at very differently. Perhaps that is the reason why we wanted to do something to prove ourselves. You know how it is with the children of celebrities, there will always be comparisons,” she says.

Interestingly, childhood also meant strict deadlines. Deepika laughs, “Yes, dad was strict about deadlines. We had to come home by ten. Parties would start at that time, so I didn’t party too much during my growing up years. There would be limited pocket money, so we didn’t lead a very fancy lifestyle. My parents also kept an eye on the kind of people I was hanging out with. Even now, if it has to do with choosing my ideal man, I will have to share things with them.”

However, she insists dad was liberal in a lot other ways. “We were friendly with each other, but I knew where to draw the line. Dad gave us full freedom to do whatever we wanted to do in life; there was no pressure on us about anything.”

Deepika says she went through a rebellious phase too, like everyone else. “Not only as a teenager, but in every phase of one’s life, one tends to disagree with one’s parents about something or the other. Fortunately, for me, since I became independent early in life, at the age of 18, things started looking up. There’s now a better understanding between dad and me. We get along better now,” she says.

Deepika cannot do without meeting her parents every now and them. “During the time of crisis, or after every two three days, I need to spend time with them. It’s great to feel grounded all over again.”

One lesson that she learnt from her dad is to believe in what you do and work to the best of your abilities.

“Dad had the courage to take up sports as a profession. He chose to be different and enjoyed a lot of success in that.”

Deepika says her dad couldn’t believe that she had signed a film with Shah Rukh Khan. “Dad was surprised, but since he is a man of few words, all he asked me was, ‘Are you sure?’ The same question I had asked Farah Khan when she had approached me for the film!”she says.

She says the best thing that she likes about her dad is that he never tried to live his dream through her. “The confidence that he has in me is what makes me more confident.”



Prakash Padukone on his li’l girl...

“We (wife Ujwala and him) always knew that Deepika wanted to get into modelling, but her decision to do Hindi films came as a surprise. When she told us that she would be cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan, we couldn’t’ believe it. But she seemed very sure. I am glad that she has got a good break.

“We have always given both our daughters enough freedom to choose what they want best. We do no impose anything on them, as ultimately they should enjoy what they are doing. If I had forced Deepika to become a sportsperson, she may have not excelled in it as her heart would be somewhere else.

“When she left Bangalore to come to Mumbai, we did feel anxious, but I guess every parent has to go through this. Fortunately, our daughter is only in Mumbai and we communicate with her on a daily basis. We miss her everyday, especially at family functions or when we go out for dinners.”