“There is no bigger star in India today than Deepika Padukone,” Says Pathaan Director

Pathaan  director Siddharth Anand  who worked  with  her   14 years  ago  in  Bachna Ae Haseeson(where she played a  cab driver  in  Sydney) seems to be blown  away by  his leading lady Deepika Padukone’s action scenes  in Pathaan .

 Says Anand , “Deepika Padukone is a massive, massive star (I have to say it twice) and her presence in Pathaan makes our film even more exciting and grand. No one has yet seen her look in Pathaan and we are thrilled to present a glimpse of her in our action spectacle. Deepika has a fierce role that will blow everyone’s mind.”

Siddharth claims that Deepika will have a magnetic aura in Pathaan.  “I have worked with her very early in her career and have seen her evolve over the years into a completely different and hungry actor. The first look of Deepika Padukone in Pathaan hints at her magnetic aura that people will be a witness to.”

Siddharth feels Deepika is a true pan India superstar and her presence in Pathaan makes the project supremely exciting. “Deepika is a rare actor with a pan Indian appeal like no other and having her in a film, looking the way she is, is a huge USP. We wanted to cast someone who has an appeal across gender and age and there is no bigger star in India today than Deepika Padukone. We can’t wait to unveil her character in the film when it releases only on the big screen on Jan 25th, 2023.”

SRK and Deepika is one of the biggest all-time on-screen pairings, given their blockbusters Om Shanti Om, Chennai Express, and Happy New Year. They recently sizzled in Spain as leaked photos from the sets of Pathaan took the internet by storm. The glamourous duo shot a hugely mounted song in Mallorca as SRK was papped flaunting an eight-pack and DP in her perfect bikini bod.

Pathaan is set to release on January 25, 2023, in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu!

Deepika  Padukone loves doing her  own  stunts. She is   very athletic, it runs in her family.Very early in her career when she did two back-to-back double roles in Om Shanti Om and Chandni Chowk To China, Deepika Padukone got to do some martial arts in the latter.

She  did them  with much gusto with Akshay Kumar  to keep  her company.There were some scenes in this 2009 film that were thought to be too dangerous. But she insisted on doing away with the body double and also the wirings provided  for safety  during the stunts.

Chandni Chowk To China director  Nikhil Advani recalls “There were some scenes that we thought to be too dangerous. But she insisted on doing away with the body double and also the wirings.She’s very athletic, it runs in her family. Then there was Akshay Kumar to inspire her. Akshay had done so much on-screen action. It was a novel experience for Deepika. And she sailed through the action. She worked really hard to get the posture and power in the action scenes.”

But nothing in Chandni  Chowk  To  China  compared  with   what she did  in the Rajinikanth release Kochadaiyaan. Deepika’s one 10-minute stunt in Kochadaiyaan was  choreographed by Peter Hein who did  Rajnikant ‘s stunts in  Robot..

Since then Deepika has been pining to show her athletic skills on screen again.

She finally  gets  another chance  to do her own stunts  in  Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan where she  disposes of all body doubles and plunges  into her own stunts. Shah  Rukh Khan is also doing  some risky  action in Pathan.

 The actress once told me, “I come from a family where sports is a given. My sister is  a professional golf player.We are a very outdoor types. Doing my own stunts on screen is a dream situation for me.”