Deepika Padukone Opens Up About Nepotism At The Start Of Her Career, Says 'It Will Continue To Exist'

Deepika Padukone's career trajectory could make up for an exciting film in the future. Since her debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om, DP has made career moves, each bold and brave in their own right. From her modelling days to making feature appearances in music videos including music composer Himesh Reshammiya's Naam Hai Tera, the 37-year-old actress has ventured into different territories and marked her space in each one of them.

In an interview to Vogue magazine, the Pathaan star opens up about dealing with the pressures of being an outsider and making her presence in an industry where preferences towards star kids would always take precedence. Deepika shares, “I had no choice. When you were an outsider 15 or 20 years ago, there was no other option. It’s an uphill task for any individual trying to make a mark in a field or profession that their parents don’t come from. The fact that we’ve started to articulate things like nepotism is a new trend. It existed then, it exists now and it will continue to exist. That was my reality.”

She further adds, “Back then, I had so many things to deal with, not just professionally but also personally. I was a teenager moving to a new city with no family or friends in a new industry. I had to figure out my meals and transport, and lug my own bags around. I never thought of it as a burden back then." DP maintains that she often reflects back at her earlier days and pats herself on the back for a journey, well-travelled.

In 2023 alone, Deepika has delivered two mammoth successes with Pathaan and Jawan. Despite her brief appearance in the latter, where she played wife and mother to Shah Rukh Khan's father-son characters, the actress managed to leave a lasting impression in the Atlee directorial that also starred Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi.

In 2024, Deepika will begin the year with Nag Ashwin's sci-fi thriller Kalki 2898 AD that stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Disha Patani in key roles. She also has Rohit Shetty's Singham Again, which releases in cinemas during the Independence Day weekend. The actress joins Shetty's cop-universe playing a brutal and violent cop named Shakti Shetty.