Deepika Padukone with Chhapaak director Meghan Gulzar.
Highlights
- Malti's presence onscreen reflects in Deepika's eyes: Meghna Gulzar
- Chhapaak releases on January 10, 2020
- Deepika's character will stay with her for life: Meghna Gulzar
Director Meghna Gulzar opened up about her work-in-progress film Chhapaak, which is inspired by the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, and about the transformation of her lead actress Deepika Padukone for the role of Malti. The Raazi director said in a statement: "Malti's presence onscreen reflects the expression in Deepika's eyes and on her face which comes through the prosthetics." Deepika had to sit through two-and-a-half hours of prosthetics every day. "But you won't see all that she went through behind the scenes onscreen. And that's the most beautiful part," Meghna Gulzar added.
Chhapaak recently wrapped after almost three months and now the film is in the post-production phase. "A wrap is an emotional experience, more so for Chhapaak, because everyone working on it made it their own. Deepika's character will stay with her for life. There is Malti, and then there is Deepika who became Malti. For me, Malti is Deepika and Deepika is Malti."
After wrapping Chhapaak, Deepika posted pictures from the sets of the film and described the movie as the "most precious film of her career." She wrote: "And it's a wrap on the most precious film of my career... See you all at the movies! January 10, 2020."
Here's Deepika Padukone's post:
Earlier, Deepika Padukone stated her views about the film and told news agency IANS: "It's a very important film and I feel that the story which we are showcasing in our film needs to be told." Chhapaak is inspired by the life of Laxmi Agarwal, whose life turned upside down after she an acid attack. She later protested against the unchecked sale of acid.