DEEPIKA PADUKONE is one of India’s highest- paid actresses—and you’re about to find out why photographed by JOHN AKEHURST styled by JESSICA DE RUITER

Altuzarra viscose sweater and 146 InSTYLE FEBRUARY 2017 nylon skirt. Prada jersey dress. BEAUTY BEAT Love Padukone’s soft red lipstick? Get the look Loewe with L’Oréal polyamide dress. Paris Colour Charlotte Riche Le Matte Olympia suede Lip Pen in Mad sandals. for Matte ($10; lorealparisusa .com). FEBRUARY 2017 InSTYLE 149 hen 31-year-old actress Deepika I was there, but over time that number increased,” she PadukonewascastinXXX: The says. She doesn’t mind being recognized, as long as it Return of Xander Cage, it wasn’t doesn’t put anyone else out. “Sometimes fan encoun- just the prospect of being in a Hol- ters can be an inconvenience for the people around lywoodactionmoviethatintrigued me, unless, of course, the people around me are more her. It was also the idea of relocating famous,” she says, referencing outings with her Xan- to Toronto, 7,755 miles away from her der Cage co-stars Vin Diesel and Nina Dobrev. mod duplex in a Mumbai skyscraper. “I With her move to Toronto, Padukone left behind wasanxiousbeforeIlefttostartfilm- perks like an entourage and a security team and now ing,” she recalls. “But I wanted to move out of my com- focuses onthebasicsherself:makingher ownscram- fort zone and start over.” bledeggsandorderingIndiantakeout.“Ireceivedan It’s not as though she needed to reinvent herself— allowance and had to find my own accommodations back in India, Padukone is as big as they come. A for- while we were filming,” she says. “I had never even mer model with 30-plus Bollywood films on her been to Canada before, so I spent the first two weeks résumé, Padukone made Forbes’s 2016 list of the 10 settling in and learning to do my own laundry.” highest-paid actresses in the world, outranking fel- Along with Diesel’s colossal muscles, Padukone’s low Indian superstar Priyanka Chopra. international profile helped make Xander Cage one of At home, she’s not only among the wealthiest this year’s most anticipated action films. The story fol- actresses but also one of the most popular, with a Kar- lows a government operative, played by Diesel, and his dashian-like social following nearly 30 million strong. But don’t come to her feed for makeup-free selfies: “As important as it is for me to Her highly posed fashion shots and film stills attract hundreds of thou- push the envelope with how I sands of likes apiece, yet they reveal very little about her personal life. dress every so often, I’ll always “I think my fans understand that feel most comfortable in a sari.” I’mveryprivateandIliketokeepa lot of things to myself,” she specu- lates. “I connect with them over work and about my thrill-seeking cohort, Padukone, on a mission to save projects, but I don’t feel the need to share every detail the world from deadly weapons. The trailer alone got a of my life. Who really cares what I had for breakfast or record-breaking 100 million views in just two days. what I’m wearing today?” None of it intimidates Padukone, who rejects the If Instagram comments are evidence (and, yes, she oft-touted notion that Bollywood films are less rele- reads them), it turns out people not only care—they’re vant than Hollywood ones. In fact, India’s film indus- obsessed. Witness the raging debate over the wide- tryhasbecomethesecond-highest-grossinginthe belted Monisha Jaising ensemble she wore to the MTV world, right after ours. “The content of the job was Europe Music Awards. Feedback ranged from loving exactly the same in both countries,” she says. “That appreciation to angry calls for her stylist’s head. says a lot about how much Indian cinema has evolved.” “Look, I’m aware that it was a departure for me, but Other common ground she’s discovered between part of the red-carpet game is to take risks,” Padukone Eastern and Western cultures: the emphasis on per- says. “Sometimes people love it, and sometimes peo- sonal style. “The way people view fashion is identi- Victoria ple hate it. In this case, I felt like a million bucks, so it cal,” Padukone says. “Indian designers may embrace Beckham cotton top and didn’t matter how anyone else reacted.” ethnic-inspired designs more than American design- velvet skirt. In some ways, it was a relief for her to hide out in an ers do, but ultimately, women use fashion as a vehicle Hair: Christian extended-stay hotel apartment in Toronto while film- for self-expression in both places. And as important Wood for The Wall Group. ingXanderCage.There,Padukonefoundalevelofano- as it is for me to push the envelope with how I dress Makeup: Kate Lee for nymity that doesn’t exist for her in Mumbai—at first, every so often, I’ll always feel most comfortable in a Starworks —HANNAH MORRILL Artists. anyway. “Initially, Canada’s Indian community knew sari.” Manicure: Marisa Carmichael for Streeters. FEBRUARY 2017 InSTYLE 151