Deepika Padukone Recalls Her 'Challenging' Experience while Auditioning For Roles In Hollywood

Deepika Padukone has shared her thoughts on the growing prominence of Indian cinema on the global stage. Her comments have gained attention following the victory of All We Imagine as Light at the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024. Discussing the increasing international focus on Indian films, Deepika suggested that this shift is more about the West embracing Indian cinema than any significant changes in Indian filmmaking itself.

Deepika Padukone on her Hollywood experience

Deepika highlighted how the success of films like RRR and the Oscar-winning song Naatu Naatu have brought Indian cinema closer to a global audience. “I think the world has become smaller, and the world has come together and it’s really about telling great stories. Whether it’s working in Sweden or Bosnia, it’s about telling interesting stories that resonate for an audience across the world,” she noted.

However, Deepika pointed out that breaking into Hollywood is quite different from working in Bollywood. Reflecting on her Hollywood debut in the 2017 film XXX: Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel, she described the experience as new and challenging. Unlike in Bollywood, where she gained fame with "Om Shanti Om" without needing to audition, her entry into Hollywood required her to go through auditions for the first time. “About a decade ago, when I started my journey in the West auditioning, it was a really new process for me because I’d never had to audition. I wasn’t a trained actor, and I never went to a fancy acting school — everything that I’ve learned has been on the job,” she said.

Deepika Padukone on Indian movies

In an interview with Deadline, Deepika Padukone remarked, “I don’t think we’ve drastically changed anything in India about the way that we work or the kinds of stories that we tell. I think we’ve always had interesting stories to tell, but I do think that what has changed is that the world has opened up to the idea of the East and India in particular and I think that’s the change — realizing there is a world outside of America.”