Deepika Padukone: On Her Birthday

Deepika Padukone did not start her Bollywood game with a 'Love All'! Herdream debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan, gave the Kannadiga lass a 5-0 lead overopponents even before the first serve.

From being the most promising new face in Hindi Cinema, Deepika hasgraduated to being one of the most admired actors of her generation. With moviemoguls and big banners vying with each other to sign her up, Deepika is all setto race to the Match Point!

Here are a few stunning snaps of the ravishing Deepika Padukone, who turns26 on 05 Jan 2012.

Deepika was born in Copenhagen (Denmark), in 1986, tobadminton legend Prakash Padukone and Ujjala Padukone.

Deepika played Badminton in school, and also played at thestate level, but quit Badminton to pursue her modeling dreams. On the otherhand, Anisha, Deepika's younger sister, plays every sport, except badminton!

Deepika attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and laterdid her graduation from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

Deepika learned acting under Anupam Kher and dance underShiamak Davar.

Her upcoming movies include 'Cocktail', 'Rana', 'Yeh JawaniHai Deewani' and 'Race 2'.

Deepika Padukone on her 26th birthday: 'I'm planning tocelebrate the day with family and friends. I recently gifted myself my dreamhome and I'm more than happy with that at the moment to think of gifting myselfanything else.'

'I want my father to be honoured with the title of BharatRatna, considering his contribution to badminton throughout his career,' saysDeepika.

Deepika on her stint in Bollywood: 'I think what made peopleaccept me is that I can be glamorous and also the girl-next-door. I have heardthis from people who have approached me with campaigns and endorsement offers.I have worked really hard to get what I'm getting. I'm very passionate aboutmovies and my constant effort is to outdo myself and challenge my actingskills. I'm happy with what I have got - but this isn't enough.'

Deepika on competition: 'I just love how Kareena carriesherself. She is extremely graceful. I think Katrina is very hard working andthat is a big reason behind her success. Priyanka has shown how versatile shecan be and done some very good work recently.'

Deepika Padukone is the brand ambassador of BSNL, Fiama DiWills and Neutrogena Deep Clean. She demands Rs 1.5 crore per ad.

She first appeared on the video of Himesh Reshammiya'sprivate album, 'Aap Ka Suroor', in the song 'Naam Hai Tera Tera'.

Her Bollywood debut was in Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om'(2007) for which she earned critical acclaim and won the Filmfare, IIFA and ZeeCine Awards for Best Debutante.

Deepika has been linked to model Nihar Pandya, cricketersMahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, actor Ranbir Kapoor, and most recently,the Kingfisher scion, Siddharth Mallya.

Must-see films of Deepika: 'Om Shanti Om', 'Love Aaj Kal','Karthik Calling Karthik', 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' and 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'

Source: India Syndicate

Images: Bollywood Hungama