Deepika Padukone has a buzz about her. Since her debut on the modeling ramp in 2003 her career has taken off like a comet that defies all the laws. She ranks among the most sought-after faces in the modeling industry, especially after she bagged the Model of the Year award at the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards and got featured in the 2006 Kingfisher calendar. Her advertising campaigns for Liril, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca have bestowed her with a supermodel status. But Deepika really hit the international scene when she was chosen to be Maybelline’s new cover face.

Daughter of the badminton ace Prakash Padukone, the former World Badminton Champion, this Bangalore based dusky beauty is set to emulate her father and be a champ in everything she does. About her modeling career she says, “I've always wanted to be a model. People had been telling me for years that I should audition and eventually enter the Miss India competition. I did a few campaigns when I was much younger, but then stopped to concentrate on my studies at school. Though modeling was just a hobby back then, I always knew I wanted to do it professionally.”

Her success as a model has made Bollywood sit up and take notice. Major production houses are vying for a chance to cast her opposite major stars. Deepika Padukone, it seems, is one lucky actress to begin her Bollywood inning with a role opposite the King Khan himself. Yes, she and Shahrukh Khan are set to star in an about to be launched film Happy New Year. What can be a better start for a debutant actress than working with a superstar like Shah Rukh Khan in her first film itself? It is not just her beauty, but also her acting talent that seems to have impressed the top directors and actors.

Deepika has done a course in acting under Anupam Kher. She is also a virtuoso performer of different techniques of dancing, like Bharatanatyam and jive and jazz ballet. Her sultry performance as a dancer in singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya’s music video “Naam Hai Tera,” has won her a devoted fan following. But she does not plan to succeed in Bollywood on mere sex appeal; she would rather let her talent speak for itself. She says, “I would love to do film but I don’t want to do get saddled with sleazy roles, the kind that is so popular these days. I am averse to skin show, even if I am offered loads of money for it.” Though she has been getting new offers on almost an everyday basis, she prefers to be choosy and insists on seeing the complete script in advance.

The Kannada film, Aishwarya, directed by Indrajit Lankesh is another big film non-Hindi film that Deepika has signed. On being asked why she was doing Kannada movies she says, “The south makes meaningful films, it’s organized and for me it’s a good experience.” It is also being reported that she has signed two big budget Hindi movies – Priyadarshan’s forthcoming film, Pirate, and Farah Khan’s latest directorial venture, Om Shanti Om, which is slated for a 2007 release.

What about her love life? Deepika isn’t forthcoming. The grapevine has it that the handsome socialite Nihar Pandya, who holds the coveted keys to her heart. Nihar is best known for his role opposite Deepika in Himesh Reshammiya's music video “I Love You O Sayoni”.