After pursuing a successful career in modeling, Padukone branched out into acting. She started by starring in the music video for the song Naam Hai Tera from the independent pop album Aap Kaa Surroor by Himesh Reshammiya.
In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film Aishwarya starring opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's international hit Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan.Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "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 SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air Padukone was then seen in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno opposite Ranbir Kapoor and alongside Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba. The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office. Her next film Chandni Chowk To China, released on 16 January 2009, and was a critical and commercial disaster. Padukone's fourth release Love Aaj Kal, released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009. |
