‘I have done pretty well’

As someone who moved to Mumbai when she was just 18, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone says she has done quite well for herself by creating a space in the world of entertainment.

She joined superstar Shah Rukh Khan for a session, titled The Journey: From Outsider To Ruler, at the inaugural WAVES Summit on Thursday. “Today when I look back at the journey… For an 18-year-old to move to a big city… It was a big decision to make. Those little things, having to navigate life with trial and error. Overall, when I look back I say not bad, well done.

“I am actually going to tell myself I have done pretty well. You don’t really sit back and look at the journey. I don’t celebrate the moments too much. I look at things in a straightforward way,” said Deepika, who started out as a model before making her acting debut with 2007’s Om Shanti Om opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

Meditative state

When he is not working, he is in a meditative state, superstar Shah Rukh Khan said. “I still believe the call of the day is a lot more theatres, small theatres in small towns, cheaper theatres so that we can show more films to people in every corner of the country,” Shah Rukh said.

He expressed the hope that with the WAVES summit, shooting processes should become easier “not only for Indians but also for people coming from outside”.

“I don’t indulge in overworking, overthinking. When I am not on the sets, I don’t do anything. I am in a meditative state,” the superstar said in a fireside chat with director friend Karan Johar and Deepika, his co-star on many movies. The actor, one of the biggest superstars in Hindi cinema, said when he was young, he was “brash” but also gutsy.

“I believe I was brash, overconfident, reckless, and a lot more stupid. I’m happy I was like this otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen the path I did with such wonderful people. I was a little gutsy also. Thank you, young Shah Rukh Khan for being so cool,” he said.

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