BANGALORE: Deepika Padukone never aspired to be a Bollywood actor and was always interested in modeling and the fashion industry, says her father.The model-turned actress shot to spotlight with the success of her first film 'Om Shanti Om' (OSO), co-starring Shah Rukh Khan."She was always interested in modelling... in the fashion industry. We knew that her interest was towards that (modelling) and she had done a few ads when she was still in school... films were not anywhere on her mind initially," recalls Prakash Padukone, former badminton champion."She wanted to be a model. And it was only when she was modelling - she modelled for about two years - I think somewhere down the line... during that period, she decided she would try her hand in acting also," he said.Asked whether he had any regrets on his daughter not taking up a sports career, Padukone said, "We, both me and my wife, believe in encouraging our children in whatever they are interested in not imposing our views. That way, they excel when you enjoy whatever you do"."Because, these days, there are opportunities in any field. One does not have to be an engineer or doctor to make a good living. There is scope for an artist or a singer or a performer in the last five years or ten years.""So, we were very sure that we would encourage them in whatever field. That's also been our experience in the past. You push somebody into something which you want them to be, then both will be disappointed, and they may not be inclined," he said.Life has not been the same again for the 22-year-old actress after she struck it big in her maiden venture. But her dad wants her to remain humble, focused and not get carried away by the new-found celebrity status
Deepika Padukone Photos
He believes that she has to work hard and realise her true potential for long-term success."I believe she has good potential. But a lot depends on her. She has to be very focused, disciplined, dedicated and concentrate on her work. Because we have seen in a lot of other fields also.... having potential is one thing. But all of them (with potential) don't necessarily make it to what they are capable of," Padukone said.She may not be able to lead the life she did 3-4 years ago. She will have some limitations being celebrity now. But to the extent possible, we would like her to be as grounded as possible and have a separate life, which is personal life and the one when you are on the sets," he said.Padukone said initially he wasn't sure if Deepika had landed a lead role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in 'OSO'."Initially, we were not sure whether it would actually happen. But Deepika was fully convinced. We thought she might get a small role. We didn't know what the story was.""Then, she told us, she will be the heroine and Shah Rukh Khan will be the hero. Then, the film got postponed for a while. So, we were not sure whether it would actually happen. She waited for one-and-half years. She knew that it was a big break for her," Padukone reminisced.Prakash said his family thoroughly enjoyed 'OSO', and it was a different experience seeing Deepika on the big screen with Shah Rukh Khan. "I am glad that the movie has done well and is still doing well," he said."Basically we were happy for her acting considering that she does not have any film background. But I think she has come up the hard way and she has put in a lot of effort. Of course, a lot of credit goes to the director (Farah Khan) also for extracting a good performance.""I think she looked very confident and very graceful. So we were very happy for her and extremely thrilled that she could get a good break," he added.Prakash said Deepika has to evolve herself as an actor. "She has got a long way to go. There are so many established actors and actresses in the industry and she has got to learn from them.""If you feel that you have achieved everything, learnt everything and nothing more to learn, then stagnation will start. And it will be the same for her also. She is still very young.