Deepika Padukone recalls borrowing money from mother for portfolio shoot

• Deepika Padukone borrowed INR10,000 from her mother to prepare a modelling portfolio.
• She promised to repay the money and make her mother proud through her work.
• The actor said she realised at 16 that she wanted to pursue acting.

Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone has recalled borrowing INR10,000 from her mother for a modelling portfolio shoot during the early stages of her career.

Speaking about her journey on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Padukone said she had promised to return the money and make her mother proud through her work.

The actor also discussed the career of her father, former badminton player Prakash Padukone. She said he pursued the sport professionally at a time when many people in India preferred careers such as medicine or law.

Padukone said her father would have been happy if she had followed him into badminton, but he always encouraged her to make her own choices and follow her heart.

She realised at the age of 16 that she wanted to become an actor because she enjoyed being in front of the camera. Padukone later gained international recognition through the Hollywood film “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”.