Deepika Padukone, who was in town yesterday to promote her forthcoming film Aarakshan, talks about the sensitive issue of reservation and more in a freewheeling exclusive with Mid Day
Deepika Padukone, who was in town yesterday to promote her forthcoming film Aarakshan, talks about the sensitive issue of reservation and more in a freewheeling exclusive with Mid Day
Deepika Padukone will not do a Kannada film any time soon, not even for the sake of her Kannadiga fans. "I am busy with Bollywood projects and focussing on my Hindi film career now. So I won't do one at the moment. I have already done a Kannada film and don't have to necessarily act in one to please my fans in Bangalore," she says.u00a0 For the moment, the post production work of Prakash Jha's Aarakshan is keeping her busy. 
She plays Amitabh Bcahchan's daughter in the film who is in love with Saif Ali Khan's character. "My character, Poorbi Anand, is independent, a thinking girl and has a mind of her own. She's emotionally torn between her boyfriend and her father on the issue of reservation. But none of us is for or against reservation in the film," she states.u00a0 She's non committal when asked about her personal take on the issue. "Personally, having done the film, I realised the positive and negative effects of reservation in our country. Fortunately or unfortunately, there will not be any immediate solution to this issue that our country has faced since the pre independence era. We need to slowly and steadily work on it," she maintains.
Since the film and the subject itself were different from anything she had done before, Deepika gave her nod to it.u00a0 "The dilemma that Poorbi goes through is something everyone has gone through at some point in their lives. It's a real situation. I connected with this film on a different level. It's such a hot topic in our country today," says Deepika whose other releases this year include Desi Boyz with John Abraham and Akshay Kumar in November and a love story with Saif Ali Khan directed by Homi Adajania.
Among the newer breed, Deepika is known to have the best script sense. How has she cultivated it? "It's trial and error. I have no godfather in the industry. Today I can call a few people for advice. But the final decision will always be mine. No one will take responsibility for that. Considering I have a sports and not au00a0 film background, it's been a learning process," she avers. Just a few months ago, Deepika was in the news for stealing Katrina Kaif's brand endorsements.
But the actress says, "The brands I endorse connect with me and vice versa. I am picky about them and want to service them right." Although her item number in Dum Maro Dum was well received, it might be a while before she does another one. "Item songs are also like films. You can't just take every offer that comes your way. They normally add glamour to a film. If something interesting comes up again, I will," she assures us.
Until then, she's happy commenting on the item boys of Bollywood - Aamir Khan and ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor. "I have seen both their songs and they are great. But I think the girls tend to do better than the boys when it comes to item numbers. That's just the way it is," she laughs, adding later that she would love to work withu00a0 Ranbir again.
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