Deepika Padukone: I wouldn't be having this title of a 'superstar' if I didn't have the work that allows people to think this way about me [Exclusive]

With such a meteoric rise and given her current standing with the audience, we were eager to know how Deepika Padukone feels about now being one of the biggest names ever in Indian cinema as well as her thoughts on the advantages and possible burdens that come with it

After Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, Hindi cinema has waited for a decade and a half, to finally got a female superstar in Deepika Padukone. And we're calling Deepika the only female superstar with all respect to other great actress and stars in their own right like Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra because she's the only one (like Madhuri, Sridevi, Hema Malini, Rekha and Nargis in their days) who can open both mainstream films (Padmaavat) and ones with limited appeal (Piku) to respectable numbers, and more so, can do so without the backing of big-name male stars. In fact, it's the actors who can piggy ride on her stardom and box-office pull.

With such a meteoric rise and given her current standing with the audience, we were eager to know how Deepika Padukone feels about now being one of the biggest names ever in Indian cinema as well as her thoughts on the advantages and possible burdens that come with it. In an exclusive interview, BollywoodLife got the perfect opportunity to quiz the actress on the same, and as usual, Deepika didn't disappoint with her well-thought, eloquent response.

"It's not something (the super-stardom) I think about. I don't wake up every morning thinking I'm some superstar. That's the audience's perception of me, and that perception is based on the work that I do. So, my only endeavor when I wake up every morning is to continue doing such work. I wouldn't be having these titles and labels such as that of a 'superstar' if I didn't have the work that allows people to think this way about me, to feel this way about my body of work. Honestly, it's not something I pay to much attention to. Having said that, I would be lying if I said that it doesn't feel nice. It most certainly is very gratifying and humbling, but at the same time, I don't wake up thinking, Oh, people think I'm a superstar. I mean, I don't know if people do that, but that's just not me. I think, where I am in life today is to do work that can positively impact other lives."

We now await the next chapter in Deepika Padukone's repertoire as Chhapaak, directed by Meghna Gulzar of Raazi and Talvar fame, is set to hit screens on 10th January 2020.