The 'wild' Deepika Padukone behind the 'good girl' image, ft. Imtiaz Ali
Imtiaz Ali said he asked Deepika Padukone to read for Veronica in Cocktail instead of Meera. He also recalled how an unplanned silent Tamasha scene in Corsica came together on instinct.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has spoken about how Deepika Padukone was eventually cast as Veronica in the film Cocktail, sharing details about the early casting process and his perception of the actor at the time.
Speaking about the film’s development with News18, Imtiaz Ali said the team was initially casting for different roles and Deepika Padukone had been asked to read for the character of Meera, a part that was later played by Diana Penty.
During the same conversation, Ali also recalled how a quiet scene in Tamasha featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Padukone in Corsica was not planned in the script and came together during the shoot. He said the moment, which unfolds in silence with no music, was captured spontaneously.
Speaking about Cocktail, Ali said, "I had written the story called Cocktail, and they were trying to cast it. They gave Deepika to read for Meera's part, the role which later Diana played." He added, "Then she called me, and I asked her to play Veronica. I said, 'Why don't you read it for Veronica?'"
Ali said Veronica was very different from Padukone's public image at the time. "Veronica is so different from what Deepika's image was at that point of time. But since I had been in the room and attended parties with her, I know how crazy and wild she can be, even though she was otherwise projecting a very 'good girl' image at that time," he said.
He added, "Now people have seen through the facade. So I thought it would be quite a new thing for Deepika to do. I knew that emotional ground exists, so that was exciting."
In the 2012 film, Padukone plays Veronica Malaney, a bold, affluent and fiercely independent party girl living in London. Veronica is shown as a wild and carefree socialite who hides her emotional emptiness behind nightclubs and a glamorous lifestyle. Despite that image, she is also deeply caring, taking Meera, played by Diana Penty, into her home and treating her like family.
Cocktail is often seen as an important turning point in Deepika Padukone’s career. Before the 2012 film, she was largely associated with glamorous and relatively conventional romantic roles. Veronica, however, allowed her to explore a more emotionally layered and unpredictable character, which many critics and audiences viewed as one of her strongest performances at the time.
Meanwhile, Imtiaz Ali also spoke about a scene in Tamasha in which Ranbir and Deepika's characters sit on a mountain range in Corsica and watch the sunset. He said the scene, marked by silence and the absence of music, was not written in the script. "That shot was not really planned in the film. It just happened like that. The place was there and we were not supposed to go up there because it was dangerous... and I went and climbed up there first to see yeh ho sakta hain kya (can it really happen)? When I reached there, I called for Ranbir to come there immediately. The shot was only of him sitting there silently," he said.
He added, "Then I remember Ranbir saying, 'Nahi sir main upar nahi chadunga (I will not climb there)!' So I said yes no need to come here just come a little closer and he anyway came to that spot and sat over there. Then Deepika also came and told her just sit there. I did not even tell them anything, they just felt it. I just rolled the camera!"
Ali's remarks revisited both his decision to cast Padukone as Veronica in Cocktail and the unplanned Tamasha scene in Corsica, with the filmmaker describing how instinct shaped both moments.
Tamasha, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, has remained popular among audiences years after its release. Many scenes and dialogues from the film are frequently discussed on social media, with viewers often praising its emotional storytelling and visual style.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has spoken about how Deepika Padukone was eventually cast as Veronica in the film Cocktail, sharing details about the early casting process and his perception of the actor at the time.
Speaking about the film’s development with News18, Imtiaz Ali said the team was initially casting for different roles and Deepika Padukone had been asked to read for the character of Meera, a part that was later played by Diana Penty.
During the same conversation, Ali also recalled how a quiet scene in Tamasha featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Padukone in Corsica was not planned in the script and came together during the shoot. He said the moment, which unfolds in silence with no music, was captured spontaneously.
Speaking about Cocktail, Ali said, "I had written the story called Cocktail, and they were trying to cast it. They gave Deepika to read for Meera's part, the role which later Diana played." He added, "Then she called me, and I asked her to play Veronica. I said, 'Why don't you read it for Veronica?'"
Ali said Veronica was very different from Padukone's public image at the time. "Veronica is so different from what Deepika's image was at that point of time. But since I had been in the room and attended parties with her, I know how crazy and wild she can be, even though she was otherwise projecting a very 'good girl' image at that time," he said.
He added, "Now people have seen through the facade. So I thought it would be quite a new thing for Deepika to do. I knew that emotional ground exists, so that was exciting."
In the 2012 film, Padukone plays Veronica Malaney, a bold, affluent and fiercely independent party girl living in London. Veronica is shown as a wild and carefree socialite who hides her emotional emptiness behind nightclubs and a glamorous lifestyle. Despite that image, she is also deeply caring, taking Meera, played by Diana Penty, into her home and treating her like family.
Cocktail is often seen as an important turning point in Deepika Padukone’s career. Before the 2012 film, she was largely associated with glamorous and relatively conventional romantic roles. Veronica, however, allowed her to explore a more emotionally layered and unpredictable character, which many critics and audiences viewed as one of her strongest performances at the time.
Meanwhile, Imtiaz Ali also spoke about a scene in Tamasha in which Ranbir and Deepika's characters sit on a mountain range in Corsica and watch the sunset. He said the scene, marked by silence and the absence of music, was not written in the script. "That shot was not really planned in the film. It just happened like that. The place was there and we were not supposed to go up there because it was dangerous... and I went and climbed up there first to see yeh ho sakta hain kya (can it really happen)? When I reached there, I called for Ranbir to come there immediately. The shot was only of him sitting there silently," he said.
He added, "Then I remember Ranbir saying, 'Nahi sir main upar nahi chadunga (I will not climb there)!' So I said yes no need to come here just come a little closer and he anyway came to that spot and sat over there. Then Deepika also came and told her just sit there. I did not even tell them anything, they just felt it. I just rolled the camera!"
Ali's remarks revisited both his decision to cast Padukone as Veronica in Cocktail and the unplanned Tamasha scene in Corsica, with the filmmaker describing how instinct shaped both moments.
Tamasha, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, has remained popular among audiences years after its release. Many scenes and dialogues from the film are frequently discussed on social media, with viewers often praising its emotional storytelling and visual style.
