It's hard to notice anyone else with Deepika Padukone around: Vin Diesel

Hollywood hulk Vin Diesel says he felt a 'connection' with xXx: Return of Xander Cage co-star Deepika Padukone right from the first short. He opens us to hit-list on Deepika and the film

Deepika Padukone

"Vin, I love you Vinnnnnn," the scream came, not from a crazed teen but from a toddler hardly two feet tall. We were at the lobby of a Central Mumbai five-star hotel on Friday afternoon as we had been assured an interview with Vin Diesel and his co-star Deepika Padukone, who are promoting their film xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

Vin Diesel

Be it journalists or the paparazzi, and even Deepika's family, we realised we were part of a long chain of people waiting to meet them by prior appointment. So one by one we were passed on from person to another, our credentials checked, and after waiting for almost four hours, the big moment arrived. We were told we had exactly five minutes to wrap up the interview. "Hi," said Vin, dressed as a quintessential Bollywood star in a black shirt, green cargos and boots.

The Hollywood actor's two-day India trip had been packed with fan meets, a glitzy red carpet gala, a star-studded premiere and media interactions, and Vin said that he thoroughly enjoyed every moment, "Meeting so many Bollywood stars was really amazing. I have known many of them and seen some of their work too. So it was a wonderful experience. I imagine watching them break out of Bollywood and doing some other work." Ask him if anyone caught his attention and he looks at Deepika, who is blushing. "To be 100 per cent honest, it's hard for anyone to do that when you have this woman next to you," he said with a big grin and added, "She has been a wonderful host and like I always say, she is someone with a beautiful soul."

Commenting on Bollywood films, Vin believes one thing that films in America lack is showing off their culture, "The song and dance format is something that is missing from Hollywood. A lot of people would agree that films here are less reserved in terms of reflecting their culture. I am not big on tradition and like to break the mould and push things further." Ask the actress if she had shown Vin any of her films and she said, "The first film I showed him was Bajirao Masatani." Vin quickly added, "She looked absolutely stunning in it." He almost broke into a jig sitting in his chair, as he said, "I love the song Mastani."

It is then that the manager loudly announced, "Last question!!!" We asked him if he can remember the first day of the xXx shoot and he recalls, "My reaction was — 'finally!' There were so many crew members but I could feel a direct connection with Deepika, which I knew would inevitably transcend on screen, too. It was a powerful moment." Vin concludes, "It was a perfect first shot. We had built up the anticipation of working with each other. So when we were shooting the sequence, even before my character looked at her, I could hear her voice.

I would definitely love to do a Bollywood film with her."

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