Deepika Padukone: An Actor And An Activist
Deepika Padukone, celebrity actor, model and columnist, is today a household name. She is the second most powerful celebrity endorser in the country with a brand value of $102.5 million and over 21 brand deals as of 2018. BW Businessworld counts her among the Most Influential Women, not only for her talents, but because she is a role model too and a woman of substance.
For Pudokone, endorsing a brand is not just about being a brand ambassador, or making an advertisement. It is also an emotional investment. She has often refused to endorse products that defy her values. The perfectionist in her makes her look at the performance of every campaign, as she evaluates the progress of the brands she is associated with.
Through her own company, Ka Enterprises, Padukone invested in Drum Foods International, a fast-moving consumer goods company, and Blu Smart, an electric taxi startup. In 2010, Padukone adopted the Maharashtrian village of Ambegaon as part of NDTV’s Greenathon Campaign, to provide the village with a regular supply of electricity. She visited Indian troops in Jammu for an Independence Day special episode of NDTV’s reality show Jai Jawaan. In 2019, she was appointed chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image.
She has been outspoken on feminism, saying, “New feminism isn’t about being aggressive; it’s about reaching the top yet being soft. It’s about being you – feminine, strong and full of will power.” In 2020, Padukone lent her support to students who were brutalised during the 2020 Jawaharlal Nehru University Attack protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Born in Copenhagen, Deepika Padukone is former national badminton champion, Prakash Padukone’s daughter. While concentrating on her education and sporting career, Padukone also worked as a child model, first appearing in a couple of advertising campaigns at the age of eight. In the tenth grade, she changed focus and decided to become a fashion model.
In 2004, she began a full-time career as a model under the tutelage of Prasad Bidapa. Padukone began her film career with Aishwarya, a Kannada film. The film was a commercial success and there was no looking back. Padukone received multiple accolades like three Filmfare Awards, three IIFA, two Producers Guild Film Awards and nine Screen Awards.
Padukone has topped various listings of India’s most attractive people, including The Times of India’s ‘Most Desirable Woman’, Maxim’s ‘Hot 100’ and FHM (India)’s ‘World’s Sexiest Woman’
