CELEBRITIES: March 2015

Deepika Padukone: Born 5 January 1986) is an Indian film actress and model. She has established a career in Bollywood films, and is cited in the media as one of the most popular Indian celebrities. Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore. As a teenager she played badminton in national level championships, but left her career in sport to become a fashion model. She soon received offers for film roles, and made her acting debut in 2006 as the titular character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. Padukone then played dual roles in her first Bollywood release—the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om—and won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Padukone received praise for portraying the lead female roles in the 2009 romance Love Aaj Kal and the 2010 drama Lafangey Parindey, but her performances in the 2008 romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno and the 2010 comedy Housefull met with negative reviews. She followed it with roles in a series of commercially unsuccessful films that failed to propel her career forward. The 2012 box office hit Cocktail marked a significant turning point in her career, earning her critical acclaim and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. In 2013, Padukone established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema by playing primary roles in the comedies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express (both of which rank among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time), and won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in the tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

Alongside her acting career, Padukone participates in stage shows, has written columns for an Indian newspaper, and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. Her off-screen life is the subject of fervent tabloid reporting in India.

Deepika Padukone

Amrita Rao: Born 17 June 1981) is an Indian film actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood as well as a few films in Telugu. Born and raised in Mumbai, Rao made her screen debut in Ab Ke Baras (2002). She rose to prominence as the lead actress in Ishq Vishk(2003) and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for her role. One of her most critically acclaimed roles was in the blockbuster romanceVivah (2006).
Roles in Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008) and Main Hoon Na (2004) earned Amrita a Stardust Best Actress Award and Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. Her subsequent films included Masti (2004), Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, (2005) Jolly LLB (2013), Singh Sahab the Great (2013) and Satyagraha (2013). Amrita made special appearances in films like Heyy Babyy (2007), Shaurya (2008), Life Partner (2009) and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (2010). She has been cited as Bollywood's quintessential "Girl Next Door" by various media outlets, a title for which she has received substantial publicity.[2] Amrita has been named one of Times Of India's "50 Most Desirable Women of 2011.

Career

Rao and advertisements Before starting her career as an actor, Rao began her career as a model did several commercials during her college days. Her first public appearance came at the age of seventeen, in 2002, when she was featured in the music video for Alisha Chinoy's Woh Pyar Mera. In 2002, after graduating with a degree in Psychology from the University of Mumbai, Rao played her first leading role as Anjali Thapar, an Indian girl born and brought up in London, in Raj Kanwar's moderately successful fantasy thriller Ab Ke Baras. Appearing opposite Arya Babbar, the film was averagely received by audiences. Rao's performance was consider to be a decent debut. Film critic Planet Bollywood wrote, "Amrita Rao comes out the real winner, with her dancing skills, innocent looks and decent acting skills."

In May 2003, Rao starred with Shahid Kapoor in the coming-of-age romance film Ishq Vishk, in an innocent college girl role as Payal Mehra. The film tells the story of two people who are friends since childhood, but only gradually discover their feelings for each other. The film was received favorably by most critics and became one of the highest grossing films of the year, as well as Rao's biggest commercial success. Rao's portrayal earned her several awards, including Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year. Critic Taran Adarsh from IndiaFM wrote, "Amrita Rao is a revelation. If she was quite okay in her first film, she is incredible in her second film. Here's an actress to watch. Her emotional sequences are so powerful that they are bound to melt even the stone-hearted." India Today noted, "The leads are surprisingly assured. But the real find is Amrita Rao. She is quietly attractive, and most important, she really shines in the calm before the storm." In 2004, Rao starred in Indra Kumar adult comedy Masti, opposite Vivek Oberoi. Amongst the low number of Bollywood adult comedy movies at the time of its release, the film received positive response from critics, and also become a financial successful at the box office. Her performance as Anchal, who is obsessively possessive about her husband, has been received positively.

Rao next had a supporting role in the Farah Khan action comedy, and the first film of Shah Rukh Khan's production company Red Chillies Entertainment, Main Hoon Na, where she co-starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Sunil Shetty, Sushmita Sen and Zayed Khan. Her role as the army officer's daughter Sanjana (Sanju) Bakshi, earned Rao Best Supporting Actress, her second filmfare nomination. Rao had a minor role in Milan Luthria's Deewar, a film about 50 Indian soldiers captured by Pakistani soldiers in 1971, during the war between India and Pakistan. Amrita played the small role of Radhika, Gaurang Kaul's love interest. The film was received poorly by both audiences and critics, and was declared a flop.

Rao co-starred alongside Shahid Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt in the 2005 drama Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, which tells the story of a man and The Hindu God of Death, Yamraj. Critical response towards the film was negative, although Rao garnered acclaim for her performance of a school teacher. Glamsham believed that the only thing that made the film watchable was the acting of Amrita Rao. That same year, Rao took on the lead role in the John Matthew Matthan drama Shikhar, a film about how some businessmen can cross any line and go to any length to get what they desire. She portrayed Madhvi, Jai's love interest. The film was very well received by critics and did average at the box office. She then appeared in the 2006 low-budget comedy Pyare Mohan opposite Vivek Oberoi. The film was inspired by the Hollywood movie See No Evil, Hear No Evil. The movie was not well received by critics; Rajeev Masand wrote, "Amrita hit career lows, producing the low-fashion chemistry.

Although highly regarded for her acting abilities, Rao's films to date had often not appealed to a wide audience, but Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic drama Vivah (2006) made her a national star. The film depicted the journey of two individuals from engagement to marriage. Co-starring alongside Shahid Kapoor, Rao portrayed Poonam, a traditionally brought up young woman. The film was given mixed reviews by most critics but became one of the highest grossing films of the year, as well as Rao's biggest commercial success to date. The film went on to gross a respectable INR539.0 million (US$8.5 million) worldwide. Taran Adarsh wrote, "Amrita Rao gets a new lease of life with Vivah. She looks the character and is splendid all through." At the 13th Star Screen Award, Rao received Best Actress nomination.