Deepika Padukone recently spoke about the special treatment she received in her school for being the daughter of badminton legend Prakash Padukone. She also spoke about following his footsteps and taking up badminton during her younger days. The actor spoke about her young days in Nat Geo’s Mega Icons that revolved around the story of her life from being a badminton player in her school days to taking up modelling and becoming the No.1 film star in Bollywood and debuting opposite Vin Diesel in Hollywood.
Describing her life of being a sportsperson, she said, “The routine was to wake up every morning like 4-5am, go for physical conditioning, go back home, go to school. As soon as I would finish school, there was no time to chitchat with friends so I would get home, change, have a snack, go to the badminton court, have dinner, be exhausted by that point and go to sleep and then the same thing again. That was my life: No late nights, no TV, no movies. Sport teaches you sacrifice, discipline, dedication and determination.”
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However, she revealed that she decided to give it all up when she travelled to Copenhagen all by herself at 16 years of age. She said, “When I came back, that was it.” She embarked on a career in modelling and relocated to Mumbai at the age of 17. She later went on to make her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan’s directorial Om Shanti Om in 2007 that went on to become a big blockbuster.
Deepika shared some happy memories from her school days and revealed how her teachers never punished her and gave her preferential treatment by saying, “We would have punished you but we are big fans of your father.” Deepika, who was a national-level badminton player gave it all up for a career in showbiz.
(Source: Nat Geo’s Mega Icons)
