Deepika remembers father in lungi

Actor Deepika Padukone, who plays a ‘chaotic’ daughter in forthcoming comedy-drama Piku, says whenever she tries to recall her fondest memories of her father, ace shuttler Prakash Padukone, she thinks of him in a lungi.

The 29-year-old, who was in the Capital on Monday to promote Piku, along with her co-star Irrfan Khan and director Shoojit Sircar, said that the movie has been a ‘challenging’ and ‘learning’ experience for her. 

“My fondest moment of me with my dad... each time I think of my dad, I think of him in a lungi. When I used to misbehave and my mother used to shout at me, then he would be  forced to punish me,” Deepika said.

“We had a store room in our home, where he used to lock me for two-three minutes, and then he used to feel bad and take me out,” the daughter of the former badminton player added.

Piku explores a beautiful father-daughter relationship, where the father (played by megastar Amitabh Bachchan), struggles against constipation, as Irrfan Khan acts as a mediator between him and his daughter (Deepika). 

Talking about her character in the film, Deepika added: “As a character, it was very challenging for me because Piku is a chaotic girl. She tries to balance a lot of things at a time. I had to work on too many things at a time — mouth dialogues, give expressions, put clothes into the washing machine. It was a new experience for me, where I got to learn a lot.”

Asked about her experience with Big B and Irrfan, Deepika said: “I never expected that I’ll get a chance to work with both Irrfan and Amitji in a film. I’ve learned a lot from them. It’s been a very pleasant experience.  I always thought of Irrfan as an intense person. He does intense roles. Everything about him is intense. When I met him for the first time on the set, I thought he would be stern and be very serious. He doesn’t say much, but when he does, he is extremely humourous. He has a great sense of humour and his comic timing is untapped.”