Deepika Padukone Interview | All About Women With Deepika Padukone & Laxmi Agarwal | Femina Upclose

There’s no perfect way to describe the energy, positivity and comfort in the air when Deepika Padukone and Laxmi Agarwal are together in a room. They are poles apart yet when they stand together representing strength, grace and the power of sisterhood, it’s difficult to keep your attention away from them. After a super-fun photoshoot session with the duo for our latest cover, we sat down with Deepika and Laxmi to hear from about their journey together for Chhhapaak—the Meghna Gulzar directorial, which is based on the acid attack on Laxmi and her life after the incident; Deepika brings alive Laxmi’s character with integrity and poise as Malti. Watch this interview to know how women need to stand for women, acid survivors, and more.
Deepika Padukone and Vikrant Massey starrer Chhapaak is out on theatres. The film, directed by Meghna Gulzar, is based on acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal’s story, and chronicles the journey of Malti, and her determination to achieve victorious in the face of adversity. Chhapaak is also Padukone’s debut venture as a producer.
We spoke to Padukone and Agarwal about society’s outlook towards survivors, beauty and the sale of acid.
Chhapaak chronicles Malti’s (the protagonist) journey. How would you define her spirit?
Deepika: If she (pointing towards Laxmi) is not an inspiration, I don’t know who is! We make movies on various topics, but it was important to shed light on a subject like acid attacks in India, considering we don’t know as much as we should. When Meghna (Gulzar) offered me the project, it talked about acid attacks, but it laid more emphasis on Malti’s spirit, grit, determination, sense of humour, intelligence, and confidence. According to me, the honesty with which Laxmi speaks is the most beautiful aspect of her personality.
Society is known to blame and shame the survivor rather than the culprit. Has society progressed from that thought process over the decades?
Laxmi: When I stepped out for the first time post my attack in 2005, girls/women ridiculed me the most. They would ask me to cover my face saying ‘bachche darr jaenge (kids will get scared)’. Many even pitied my state. A girl child is considered a burden right from the time she is in the womb. The parents’ biggest concern when she is born is not her upbringing, but the dowry they’ll have to start collecting. And if an incident like this occurs, the million-dollar question is—who will marry her? Also, why is it that culprits only attack the woman’s face with acid, and not any other body part? Because the concept of a woman’s ‘beauty’ has been ingrained in people’s minds by society. I want to question the mindset—why should I cover my face? What have I done wrong? Shouldn’t the culprit be hiding his face?
I was also advised to get back at the offender using acid, but I thought—then, how are we different? If you want to teach such men a lesson, prove yourself. The fact that I’m here today is the biggest slap for my attacker. Fortunately, society has progressed, and we are more aware now ever since survivors started sharing their stories. Earlier, many would say they were burnt while using the stove or gas; today, women have the strength to tell their stories and fight for their rights. Up until recently, people wouldn’t call us for weddings; today they’re marrying us. Until recently, they’d not even look at us; today, they want selfies with us (smiles).
Deepika: I don’t think the mindset has changed or we have progressed, but I hope things change after this film.
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