A few days ago, Bollywood’s other queen of the silver screen (hey, a film industry can have multiple queens of the silver screen, okay?) Deepika Padukone attended a press conference and the red carpet premiere of xXx: Return of Xander Cage in Mumbai, alongside a random man.*
Here’s a picture of them chillin’.
Eagle-eyed Aerogrammers may note that Padukone’s gown looks a lot like the one Priyanka Chopra wore at the Golden Globes:
Even better is this: That the two showstoppers who made Bajirao Mastani a runaway blockbuster (let’s be honest, Ranveer Singh looked pretty and all, but the women carried the film) are the trailblazers building a bridge from Bollywood to Hollywood. Is this a good time to mention that Chopra and Padukone need to team up ASAP to make that Bollywood version of Bridesmaids happen?
Regardless, it’s high time that another one of Bollywood’s finest started breaking through to America. With brilliant films like Finding Fanny and Piku under belt, Padukone is long overdue for her American debut (especially after she had to opt out of The Fast & the Furious 7 — which was probably Shah Rukh Khan’s fault, btw.)
Oh, you probably wanted to see the trailer for the sequel to that xXx movie or whatever didn’t you (I didn’t know there was a first one, but that’s what happens when you rope Deepika Padukone in for your sequel, franchises suddenly enjoy new relevance!)
While most of the trailer features that man who attended the red carpet with Padukone, the best part is that around 1:47, we hear the first of the star’s speaking part — and it’s there, accent and all — and it’s brilliant, because lol, desi thesps shouldn’t need to do ~accent work~ to make it big in Hollywood. Be proud of your heritage etc. etc. etc.
By the way, here’s another picture of Padukone looking flawless from the red carpet premiere.
Go get ’em, Deepika!
* It turns out the man’s name is Vin Diesel. Huh.
Rohin Guha is an editor at The Aerogram. Follow him @ohrohin. Follow The Aerogram @theaerogram.
