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Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. Her first screen appearance was in Himesh Reshammiya's music video "Naam Hai Tera" in 2005. Padukone made her film debut by playing the titular role in the Kannada film Aishwarya (2006). Her first Hindi film release came the following year with Farah Khan's melodrama Om Shanti Om, in which she played dual roles opposite Shah Rukh Khan. For her performance, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and also received a Best Actress nomination at the ceremony. Her sole film role in 2008 was as one of Ranbir Kapoor's love interests in Bachna Ae Haseeno.
Padukone's first film release of 2009, the kung fu comedy Chandni Chowk to China opposite Akshay Kumar, proved to be a box office flop. However, her next release, Imtiaz Ali's romance Love Aaj Kal grossed ₹1.2 billion (US$18 million) worldwide, and garnered her a second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. Padukone had five film releases in 2010. The comedy Housefull was a commercial success, though her other four releases failed at the box office. The series of poorly received films continued with both her 2011 releases—the drama Aarakshan and the comedy Desi Boyz. The role of an impulsive party-girl in Homi Adajania's Cocktail (2012) proved to be a breakthrough for Padukone. Critics praised her performance and she received several acting nominations for it.
The year 2013 was key for Padukone; all four of her releases that year were box office hits. Among these were two of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time—the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and the action-comedy Chennai Express. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for portraying Leela, a character based on Juliet, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013). In 2014, Padukone appeared in Kochadaiiyaan, an animation film in Tamil, which was shot using motion capture technology, and played a bar dancer in the ₹3.4 billion (US$51 million)-grossing heist film Happy New Year. The year 2015 saw her play a headstrong architect in Shoojit Sircar's critically acclaimed comedy-drama Piku, which earned Padukone her second Best Actress award at Filmfare. Her final release of the year—Bhansali's historical romance Bajirao Mastani—ranks among her most successful, in which she played the warrior Mastani opposite Ranveer Singh's Bajirao I. Padukone's first project in Hollywood—the action film xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)—earned over US$330 million worldwide.