Deepika Padukone’s transformation into an acid attack survivor for Meghna Gulzar’s Chhapaak is nothing less than incredible. The actress took to social media to unveil her look in the film, and netizens have been lauding her for taking on such a powerful role, inspired by acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.
“A character that will stay with me forever… #Malti. Shoot begins today! #Chhapaak. Releasing – 10th January, 2020,” she announced in an Instagram post, which has garnered over 5 lakh likes in less than an hour.
In an interview at the Facebook office, Deepika revealed that she was not “emotionally ready” to take on such an intense film, after the challenging and emotionally draining Padmaavat.
However, when director Meghna Gulzar came to her with the script of Chhapaak, which is based on the journey of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, Deepika was bowled over. In fact, she was so moved by the story that she decided to turn producer for the film.
“Last year, when I was looking at scripts, I wasn’t emotionally ready to do this sort of a film. I was really looking at doing a love story,” she said, adding that she knew within five minutes of the narration that Chhapaak was the film for her.
“Meghna walked into the office and took me through the story. In five minutes of speaking with her, I knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do next. Something about Meghna herself, Laxmi’s story and Meghna’s conviction in this film… It was very similar to Piku. In just five minutes of meeting the director, I knew that this is the film I wanted to do,” the actress said.
Chhapaak which also features Vikrant Massey in a pivotal role, goes on floors today and will primarily be shot in Mumbai and Delhi. It is scheduled to release on January 10, 2020.
