How Deepika Padukone's Kannada debut paved the way for Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om

Long before Deepika Padukone became one of India's most successful and highest-paid actors, her rise began with a shift that surprised people who remembered as an athlete. Filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh, who gave Deepika her first break in the 2006 Kannada film ‘Aishwarya’, recently revisited those early days and described how her debut and growing popularity soon drew the attention of King Khan.

On Hindi Rush's YouTube channel, Lankesh spoke about Deepika's journey from a state-level badminton player to an internationally recognised film star. He praised the longevity of her success, saying, “She's not just a superstar, she's still the no 1 actress, the highest paid actress in India now. I'm proud to say that.”

Lankesh remembered knowing Deepika from her badminton days, a sport closely linked to her family – her father, Prakash Padukone, is still one of India's most celebrated players. Even then, he said, she stood out for her discipline and concentration.

"Of course, she had the charisma. When I looked at her, I could feel that her presence in itself was so engaging. When I was a young boy, I used to play badminton with her. She was an amazing badminton player. She was playing for the state. She was very focused," he recalled.

Prakash Padukone had reportedly hoped his elder daughter would pursue badminton professionally. But Deepika took a different route when she moved in modelling – an evolution that surprised Lankesh the first time he saw her in the fashion scene.

"When I became a director, I suddenly saw her in a fashion show. And the next day, I saw her still in a leading magazine. Then I was very shocked, what a transformation from a badminton player to a supermodel," Indrajit Lankesh said on Hindi Rush's YouTube channel.

When casting for ‘Aishwarya’, Lankesh says he saw in Deepika the qualities the pat demanded: height, athletic presence, striking looks and wide appeal. He reached out soon after and met her in Mumbai, where she was accompanied by her manager, Pooja Dadlani.

"Pooja Dadlani was a friend and manager. She was managing Deepika even before she came to the industry. In fact, a lot of the success of Deepika Padukone should go to Pooja Dadlani. We know that today, Pooja Dadlani is Shah Rukh Khan's woman Friday today," said the filmmaker.

Aishwarya released in 2006 and did well commercially in Karnataka, marking Deepika's screen debut. Lankesh believes the film’s success helped take her visibility national and eventually reached Shah Rukh Khan, who at the time was looking for a new heroine to star opposite him.

"Aishwarya was a big hit with Deepika Padukone in the title role. It played in theatres for 50 days. There were big hoardings everywhere, and articles in Hindi newspapers. In fact, Shah Rukh Khan had visited Bengaluru for an event then. When a journalist asked him about Aishwarya, Shah Rukh Khan, being witty and with his sense of humour, just said, 'I came to know it's a big hit. That means I'll have to pay her more.' I was there as a journalist. I was laughing," recalled the journalist-turned-filmmaker.

Within a year she was cast opposite Shah Rukh in Farah Khan's 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om, a launch that is still talked about as one of Hindi cinema's most successful debuts. That film, followed by projects such as Bachna Ae Haseeno, helped cement her place among Bollywood’s leading actors.

Looking back, Lankesh credited Deepika’s sporting background for much of her grit and focus. "She didn't look back. She was so focused and passionate, of course, just like her dad was on the badminton court. The passion and wanting to win came from her dad. So, there was Om Shanti Om and Bachna Ae Haseeno," he said.

On the work front, Padukone will next appear in Raaka opposite Allu Arjun and the action film King. For King, she will reunite with her longtime collaborator, Shah Rukh Khan.