Bollywood star's career is on a roll

Deepika Padukone says new film is her most demanding but the trend-setter hopes fans will fall for her latest style craze: rollerskating.

Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh star in the film Lafangey Parindey

DUBAI // The Indian actress Deepika Padukone hopes what she calls her most challenging movie will set a trend much as her previous films have - and get her fans zipping along on roller skates. The Hindi-language movie Lafangey Parindey (Born Wild, Born to Fly) will be released today in the Emirates. It tells the love story of a boxer and a blind skater who wants to break out of Mumbai's grimy backstreets.

"I really hope skating catches on," Ms Padukone said. "It's happened with most of my films - I've managed to set a trend. It will be fun if skating picks up after people watch the movie." Tall, willowy and beautiful, Ms Padukone has seen fans adopt her fashion styles from other films. Her fringe and a slim-fitted tunic became popular last year after the release of two of her movies. Her ultra-thick eyeliner was all the rage after her debut movie Om Shanti Om three years ago.

However, Ms Padukone may be somewhat optimistic about the likelihood of setting the pace this time, said Komal Nahta, the Bollywood editor of trade guide Film Information. He said while the movie beauty did set trends, skating was unlikely to become one of them. "It's true what she wears catches on, but I'm doubtful that skating will become popular because of her," he said. "There is a reasonable buzz about the film and Deepika is rather hot, so the movie should work."

The director, Pradeep Sarkar, held a rehearsal workshop that stretched over six months - unusually long for Hindi cinema - during which he took the actors through their scenes to make them flesh out their characters. Mr Sarkar is known in the South Asian film community for his debut movie Parineeta (Married Woman), a bittersweet love story that was a hit five years ago. However, his next movie Laaga Chuneri Mein Daag (Journey of a Woman), about a female forced to turn to prostitution, flopped at the box office.

"Still, Pradeep Sarkar is recognised as a good filmmaker," Mr Nahta said. "He is particular about nuances, sound. He made the actors work hard." Ms Padukone said she had the bruises to prove it. Coaches were flown in from Italy to make sure she looked like a professional. "I'm athletic and play sports, but I've never skated so I had to learn from scratch," she said. "I'm still hobbling from my falls. I had to appear convincing, learn to skate and dance like a pro." She threw herself into the training with gusto, so much so, she sprained a knee from the tumbles she took. The next challenge was to play a blind girl.

"We met and spent time with blind kids and I observed them," Ms Padukone said. "But you can spend as much time as you want observing. The real test is what the camera captures." Ms Padukone said it was tough focusing on skating while pretending she could not see. "I had to concentrate a lot and that was really tiring, but it's worth it," she said. Her character works a nine-to-five job in a mall by day. By night she strives to sharpen her skating skills so that she can make it on the big stage and start a new life.

The rigours of the film extended to her co-star, Neil Nitin Mukesh, who sported cuts and a swollen face during his training as a boxer and a motorcyclist. "I'm that biker you see shooting down the road doing wheelies," he said. "The toughest for me was boxing blindfolded." Nicknamed One-Shot Nandu in the movie, he plays a street thug who specialises in knocking out his opponents while his eyes are covered with a black blindfold.

"I spent a lot of time ducking and missing, [though] many [blows] did land straight on my face," said Mr Mukesh, the grandson of the legendary Indian singer Mukesh and son of the popular singer Nitin Mukesh. Mr Sarkar said he hoped the film would touch a chord across borders, adding that the challenge was to prepare both actors to cope with blindness and portray characters who wanted more out of their life.

"It's a love story, a gritty one," he said. "It does not have a glamour quotient. Whether you are in India or anywhere else in the world, the only thing that prevails in life is hope and whatever happens you shouldn't lose hope." @Email:[e-mail]