Why Deepika Padukone Deserves an Apology
The superstar gave birth to her first child on September 8. Yet, for trolls, she was never pregnant enough.
In the first half of 2024, actor Deepika Padukone, who welcomed a daughter over the weekend, starred in two of the highest-grossing Indian films. Released in January, Fighter, the Hindi action film, earned $29 million in the country, while Kalki 2898 AD, the Telugu sci-fi epic out in June, collected $92 million, making up a whopping 15% of India’s total box office earnings. The outcome is monumental — especially when you consider that Padukone starred in two of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2023, too, opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Pathaan and Jawan.
And yet, instead of celebrating her achievements, faceless trolls on the internet spent the last nine months directing vitriol at Padukone, reducing her to the sum of their misogyny. Her fault? Being a pregnant celebrity in a country where dissecting women’s bodies continues to be a national sport.