Deepika Padukone, who has completed a successful four year innings in Bollywood and who is currently one of the most sought after actresses in B-Town, says before she stepped into the world of modelling and cinema, she was asked by several beauty pageant organisers to consider entering a contest. “I refused point blank,” says Deepika. “I am all admiration for beauty pageant winners but I could never muster up courage to face the kind of gruelling schedules that these girls do.
You need to be made of another stuff to participate in a live contest; walk the ramp in those costumes and be judged for physical attributes. Somehow that never appealed to me.” Deepika adds, “While I have utmost regard for all the girls like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushmita Sen, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta and others who made India proud, I was sure about two things – I would never participate in a beauty contest; two – I was dead against doing a music video.”
She sheepishly admits though that she had to break her resolve of not doing a music video when she appeared in Himesh Reshammiya’s video ‘Naam Hai Tera’. “Himesh was on top of his game when this video happened and I was persuaded by many to be part of this music video,” she says. “I don’t regret anything I have done.”