Chaitanya Padukone

Mumbai: Guess which was debutante Deepika Padukone’s easiest ‘shot’ whilst shooting for ‘Om Shanti Om’? Well, it was the scene, which had her playing badminton with co-actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Director Farah Khan says, “It’s a song sequence, which is a tribute to the Leena Chandavarkar-Jeetendra number ‘Dhal gaya din’ in the yesteryear hit ‘Humjoli’.” 

But did Deepika, (daughter of former badminton champion Prakash Padukone and an excellent player herself) prove one-up to the Khan, who is a soccer, cricket and now hockey enthusiast?

Farah laughs, “Of course Deepika was excellent in those shots because badminton runs in her blood.  But Shah Rukh too got the shot ‘okayed’ in one take because he was so embarrassed with his tight-fitting white pants and T-shirt. It was funny but the crew cheered him on to play more,” says Farah.

Apparently, Deepika was overwhelmed with delight when she learnt that there was a badminton scene in the movie.

“It was a double delight  combining my previous passion for badminton with my current one for acting. And as is his forte, SRK proved to be the ‘man of the match’,” insists Deepika who is revving up to start shooting for her next action thriller ‘Made In China’ directed by Nikhil Advani. Here like in ‘OSO’,  she once again plays a double role according to insiders.